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A LA CALIFORNIA, 
 
 OR 
 
 j^etcheg of Life in the golden j&afie, 
 
 BEING DEVOTED TO 
 
 Our Pioneer Times— Frontier Adventure— The Days of '49 — The Mines — Judge Lynch- 
 On the Deserts — Wild Life— Amusing Anecdo:es — Stirring Adventures — Reckless 
 Daring — Frightful Experiences with the Grizzly Bear — How Lassoed — The 
 Sea Shore — San FrancUco in Early Days fully described — Interesting 
 Scenery visited and described— A Breezy Narrative — Rich in 
 Annecdotal Matter— Sparkling with Wit— The Spiciest 
 Humor— An unequalled Record of the Days that 
 are past— Days of Suffering — of Danger — 
 Wild Romance of a peculiar char- 
 acter — 1849 to 1S72— 
 Etc., Etc. 
 
 BY 
 
 Colonel Albert S. Evans. 
 
 WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ALSO, 
 
 An Authentic Account I Famous Yosemite Valley, 
 
 Its Stupendous Cliffs— Dazzling Waterfalls, Etc.— The Big Tree* of California— The 
 
 Giant Forest n( Tulare— The Redwoods of the Coast Ranges — 
 
 The Geysers. 
 
 "BEING 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF WONDERFUL THINGS 
 
 OF A CHARACTER PECULIARLY CALIFORNIAN. 
 Suitably Illustrated. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO: 
 
 George H. Bancroft, Publisher. 
 1880. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, 
 
 By A. L. Bancroft & Company, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 Copyright, 1888, 
 By George II. Bancroft. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MY FIRST PASEAtf. 
 
 The Sierra Morena, and the Redwood Forest of San Mateo and Santa Cruz.— 
 The Sportsman's Paradise. — Looking back at the Golden City. — Yester- 
 day and To-day. — Along the Bay of San Francisco. — The Valley of San 
 Andreas. — Harry Linden's Speculation in Oats. — Good Resolutions and 
 what came of them. — A Dream of Tropic Life. — An Evening in the 
 Mountains. — A Scene of Wonderful Beauty. — The Avalanche from the 
 Pacific. — Descending the Mountain by Moonlight. — The End of my 
 Pasear. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 The Crystal Springs. — The Music of the Night. — The California Night Singer 
 and the Legend of the Easter Eggs. — The Canada del Reymundo. — Over 
 the Sierra Morena. — Down the Coast. — Pescadero and its Surroundings. — 
 Pigeon Point and the Wrecks. — A Shipwrecked Ghost. — The Coast 
 Whalers and their Superstitions. — An Embarcadero on the San Mateo 
 Coast. — Ride to Point Alio Nuevo. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 Steele's Ranch. — The Model Dairy of California. — Captain Graham. — A Semi- 
 Tiopical Garden. — Frightful Contest with a Grizzly. — Bear and for-Bear. 
 The True King of Beasts. — The Model of Conservatism. — How the 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Hunters lay for Bruin. — A Foolhardy Feat.— An Adventure on the San 
 Joaquin. — A Bear on a Spree. — Don't stand on ceremony with a Bear. — 
 How a Californian Bear entertained a Mexican Bull. — How Native Cali- 
 fornians Lasso the Bear. — How a Yankee did it. — The Bear Ahead. — 
 Pebble Beach of Pescadero. — Cona. — The oldest Inhabitant. — Don Felipe 
 Armas. — Don Salvador Mosquito. — The Man who was a Soldier. — A 
 Hundred Years Ago. — Catching Salmon Trout. — Shooting Sea-Lions. — 
 Wild Scene on the Sea-Shore. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PESCADERO TO SANTA CRUZ. 
 
 Down the Coast toward Santa Cruz. — The Moss and Shell Beaches of Pesca- 
 dero. — A Disgusted Hunter. — A Grizzly Bear Procession. — A Mutual 
 Surprise and Double Stampede. — The Bear Fever. — The Buck Fever and 
 the Prairie-Hen Fever. — How Jim Wheeler killed the Buck. — How Old 
 S. killed three at one shot. — A Spanish-American Gentleman of Scientific 
 Attainments and Undoubted Veracity . — View of the B xy of Monterey and 
 the Valley and Mountains of Santa Cruz. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 The Bay of .Santa Cruz and its Surroundings. — The Natural Bridge. — Mussel 
 men, their Dangers and Delight. — Adventure with a Sea-Lion. — Uninvited 
 Guest at a Pic-nic. — An Embarcadero. — Sea Bathing. — Big Trees of Santa 
 Cruz. — Caves. — Mountain Rides. — Supposed Ruins. — Up the Valley of 
 the San Lorenzo. — The Mountain Honeysuckle and Madrono. — Over the 
 Mountains again. — The Redwood. — And what a Fall was there my 
 Countrymen! — How they broke Jail. — Down the Valley of Los Gatos.-- 
 Strange Rise and P'all of the Streams of the Coast Range, — Out of the 
 Wilderness. 
 
 CHAPTER VJ. 
 
 IN THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 Cosmopolitanism of San Francisco. — Its Street Panoramas and Pictures and 
 Sounds. — An Autumn Morning. — The "Barbary Coast." — The Chinese 
 Missionary.— Factory Hands on Holiday. — Funeral of Ah Sam. — A 
 Chinese Faction-fight. — An Equestrian Outfit. — The Poundmaster's Van. 
 General Stampede, its Cause and its Course. — The Pine-apple Plant. — 
 The Passers-by. 
 
CONTEXTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TAMALPAIS. 
 
 Where it is Situated. — Some Speculation as to the Signification of the name 
 and its Possible Origin. — Our Start for the Mountains. — The Trip to San 
 Rafael and Adventures by the Way. — Ascending the Mountain. — First 
 Blood. — The View of the Pay and City of San Francisco. — Mount Diablo 
 puts in an Appearance. — At the Summit. — A Bear-faced Fraud. — Fine 
 Study of a Fog-Bank. — A Faithless Guide. — Wandering in the Mist. — 
 Out of the Woods. — An Afternoon's Sport. — A Painful Subject. — Adlos, 
 Tamalpais. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 NAPA VALLEY AND MT. ST. HELENA. 
 
 From San Francisco to Vallejo. — What we saw while crossing the Bay of San 
 Pablo. — The Valley of Napa. — A Moonlight Evening in the Mountains. — 
 Calistoga by Moonlight and Sunlight. — The Baths. — Hot Chicken Soup 
 Spring. — The Petrified Forest of Calistoga. — The Great Ranch and Vine- 
 yards. — Ascent of Mount St. Helena. — What we saw from the Summit. — 
 Reminiscences of the Flood.— Stoiy of the Judge and the Stranger. — 
 Presently, sir! Presently! — Good Joke on the Robbers. — What happened 
 to me in Arizona. — A Good Story, but too appreciative audience. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WAITING UNDER THE MADRONO. 
 
 Dreaming of the Tropics Again. — The Honey Bee. — In California. — A Good 
 Joke on the Bear. — On the Red Desert. — In the Valley of Shadow. — Fail 
 Alfaretto. — Burning of the Mezquites. — The Curse of the White Man. — A 
 Wild Night's Ride in the Sierra. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 AROUND THE MOUNTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 The Fountain of Youth. — Hunting for Trouble. — Mike Durfee's Snake. — The 
 Dogs of '49. — A Tragedy in the Redwoods. — When shall we three meet 
 again?— Story of the Champion Mule of El Dorado. — How a Green 
 Down-Easter struck it rich. — Result of Misplaced Confidence. — Sensational 
 Reports Depreciated.— Out-door amusements in Arizona. — An Albumin 
 Camp. — The Mountains by Moonlight. — Parting under '.he Madrono.— 
 Adios! 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE CHINESE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 
 
 Weird and Ghastly Scene in a Chinese Temple at Midnight. — The Story of 
 Concatenation Bill. —The True History of the Great Indian Fight on the 
 Gila. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A CRUISE ON THE BARBARY COAST. 
 
 N*ight Scenes in San Francisco. — Low Life. — Scene in a Recently Suppressed 
 Gambling House. — Visit to the Chinese Quarter. — How John Chinaman 
 loses his Money. — The Thieves and Rounders of San Francisco. — How 
 they Live and where they Lodge. — The Dance-Cellars. -Opium Dens and 
 Thieves' Ordinaries of the Barbary Coast. — How the San Francisco Police 
 treat old offenders, etc., etc. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 Arrival of a China Steamer at San Francisco. — Her Passengers and Cargo. — 
 A Horseback Trip to Mount Diablo. — Ascending the Mountain. — The 
 Magnificent View from the Summit. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 EARLY TIMES. 
 
 The Days of '49 and '52. — How they administered the Law in Tuolumne 
 County, and Justice in Sierra. — Old Put and Judge Hollowbarn.— Pike's 
 "Sasherarer." — Peart Times on Rabbit Creek. — A Game that was 
 Spoiled. — An Appeal that wouldn't hold, and Prediction that wouldn't do 
 to bet upon. — Stories of Wagers. — Insulted Dignity Avenged.-— Base In- 
 gratitude. — Dead or Alive? — Drowned or Not? — A Glass-eye Let. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 YOSEMITE VALLEY DESCRIBED. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE BIG TREES. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE GEYSERS. 
 
CALIFORNIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MY FIRST PASEAR, 
 
 The Sierra Morena and the Redwood Forest of San Mateo and Santa Cruz. 
 — The Sportsman's Paradise. — Looking back at the Golden City. — Yes- 
 terday and To-day. — Along the Bay of San Francisco. — The Valley cf 
 San Andreas. — Harry Linden's Speculation in Oats. — Good Resolu- 
 tions and what came of them. — A Dream of Tropic Life. — An Even- 
 ing on the Mountains. — A Scene of Wonderful Beauty. — The Avalanche 
 from the Pacific. — Descending the Mountain by Moonlight. — The End 
 of my Paseat. 
 
 Stretching away southward from the Golden 
 Gate, at the northern point of the peninsula of San 
 Francisco, through San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Mon- 
 terey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los An- 
 geles, and San Diego Counties, in Alta California, 
 and thence on down through the entire peninsula 
 of Lower California to Cape St. Lucas, on the 
 border of the tropics, is an almost unbroken range 
 of mountains, known at different points by different 
 names, and presenting the wildest variety of scenery 
 to be found in any mountain range in North America. 
 
 ( ii) 
 
, 2 MY FIRST PASEAK. 
 
 Just back of the Mission Dolores, on the southern 
 boundary of the city of San Francisco, they rise 
 from low hills into minor mountains, and are known 
 as the Bernal Heights, and Mission Mountains. 
 Farther southward they increase in height, and 
 become clothed in forest. Twenty miles south of 
 San Francisco they form a majestic sierra, and 
 thence, for some distance, are designated as the 
 Sierra Morena. Still farther south they are known 
 as the Coast Range of Santa Cruz, and farther yet 
 as the Gabilan Mountains. Along this range, in San 
 Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties, is one of the largest, 
 if not the largest, of the redwood forests of California. 
 This forest-belt is from ten to twenty miles in width 
 from east to west, and from thirty to forty miles in 
 length from north to south, and contains timber 
 enough to build twenty San Franciscos. The red- 
 woods nowhere come down to the Pacific coast, and 
 the traveler on the San Francisco and San Jose 
 Railroad catches so few glimpses of them that he 
 would never dream of the existence of such a forest ; 
 while from the decks of passing steamers one sees 
 only small patches of them in the canons, miles back 
 in the interim »r. The giant redwood — to which family 
 the big trees of Tuolumne, Calaveras, and Mariposa 
 Counties belong — flourishes best at a h\<A\ elevation 
 and in a warm, moist atmosphere. This great forest, 
 like that of Mendocino, crowns the mountains with 
 tropical luxuriance, and is watered by the mists 
 which, rising for a considerable part of the year 
 from the bosom of the Pacific, are driven inland by 
 the trade-winds and condensed on the mountain 
 
Till-: REDWOOD FOREST. 
 
 13 
 
 slopes, keeping the rank vegetation which clothes 
 them almost perpetually dripping. The redwoods 
 themselves rise to a height of one to three hundred 
 feet or more, and attain immense size. Beneath 
 their shade springs up an almost impenetrable under- 
 growth of flowering shrubs and trees — California 
 iilac, tea-oak, pine, ceonotus. laurel, or the fragrant 
 bay, buckeye, manzanita, poison-oak, the giant Cali- 
 fornia honeysuckle, which, half bush, half vine, rises 
 to a height of ten to twenty feet, and from its thou- 
 sands of trumpet-shaped flowers, tinted like the wild 
 crab-apple blossoms, loads the atmosphere with a 
 delicious perfume , and last, but not least, the ma- 
 drono, pride of the forest, and fairest of all the trees 
 of earth. These woods are for the most part in a 
 native state. Here and there the axe and saw-mill 
 have made sad havoc, but in the more mountainous 
 and least accessible localities the forest stretches 
 unbroken for miles and miles, and silence reigns 
 supreme. Horse trail.; are few, and the dense un- 
 dergrowth and the ruggedness of the country make 
 traveling almost impossible. Here the grizzly bear 
 hides in security, and from his mountain fastnesses 
 sallies forth at intervals to forage on the flocks and 
 herds, orchards and gardens, that dot the lowlands. 
 Here also the California lion ,wolf, fox, mink, raccoon, 
 wild-cat, lynx, deer, eagle, and great vulture abound, 
 within hearing of the whistle of the locomotive which 
 sweeps through the valley of Santa Clara, and almost 
 within reach of the echoes of the guns of Alcatraz, 
 and the bells of the Golden City. It is still, to the great 
 majority of the residents even of San Francisco, a 
 
M 
 
 MY FIRST PASEAR. 
 
 terra incognita, and for years to come will be a verit- 
 able hunter's paradise. Quail, doves, pigeons, rab- 
 bits, squirrels, hares, and other game, are found 
 everywhere, and the pure mountain streams swarm 
 with the beautiful spotted trout of California. 
 
 Parties of ladies and gentlemen from San Fran- 
 cisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Jose, Santa Cruz, 
 and Pescadero, skilled in woodcraft and wise in the 
 ways of adepts with the gun and rod, make excur- 
 sions into this tangled wilderness, camp out, hunt, 
 fish, pic-nic, and enjoy themselves for weeks at a 
 time annually ; but to the general tourist and the 
 great world at large the country is as little known 
 as the savage and inhospitable wilderness of central 
 and northern Australia. 
 
 Between this forest and mountain country, and 
 the shore of the Pacific, there is a narrow but pro- 
 ductive farming and grazing country, but seldom 
 visited by travelers, as it lies off the main lines of 
 communication, though quite readily accessible from 
 San Francisco. This too has its attractions for the 
 tourist who is not sight-seeing by the; guide-book, 
 and much that is novel, curious, and enjoyable may 
 always be found there. 
 
 The Spanish language has many words and terms 
 having no equivalent in the English tongue, which 
 are so identified with the geography and every-day 
 life of California that they have become engrafted 
 upon our local vernacular, and must forever form a 
 part of it. Among the most expressive of these is 
 the pascdr. Literally it means to walk, or to take out 
 upon a walk, but conventionally it is a journey 
 
A SEPTEMBER RIDE. 
 
 15 
 
 devoid of business object, a quiet pleasure jaunt, a 
 trip for rest, relaxation from care and toil, for recre- 
 ation. When the lazy days of summer come, you 
 ask for your San Francisco friend the doctor, the 
 lawyer, clergyman, or merchant, and the chances 
 are that you will be told "he has gone on a pascar" 
 to the Yosemite, to Lake Tahoe, to the springs, or 
 to the mountains where the trout-streams abound. 
 
 The country of which I have been speaking is just 
 the country for an enjoyable pasear, and many times, 
 when incessant toil in a close, dark office, or the too 
 bracing winds of San Francisco had worn me down, 
 and made rest, recreation, and a change of air im- 
 perative, I have shouldered my gun, mounted my 
 horse, and galloped away to these mountains, there to 
 find refuge from care, anxiety, and exhausting labor, 
 purer air, lighter spirits, a better appetite, and, in 
 the end, perfect health again. 
 
 It was a bright September afternoon when I 
 started on my last pascdr out toward the Sierra 
 Morena, mounted on brave old Don Benito, a vet- 
 eran campaigner in Algiers and Mexico, who had 
 borne me many a weary mile over the hot sands of 
 the desert, up and down the red mountains, and 
 through the Apache-haunted wilds of Arizona. My 
 son and namesake, — I would say heir, were it not 
 that it would seem like A. Ward's last joke, in view 
 of the present extent of my landed estates and the 
 condition of my exchequer, — as bold a rider ?nd 
 skillful fisherman as any boy of twelve may be. 
 accompanied me, mounted on his plucky and spirited 
 little California mustang, his pet and companion for 
 
j6 my first pasear. 
 
 years. Out through the dusty streets of the city 
 proper, and through the Mission Dolores, we rode 
 at a gallop, and only paused, at length, to allow our 
 fretting horses a moment's rest, and look back upon 
 the city we were so gladly leaving behind us, from 
 the heights beyond Islais Creek. It is, after all, a 
 goodly city, and a goodly sight to look upon from 
 these hills ; and as we look down upon it, and upon 
 the ancient mission which stood there, as it stands 
 to-day, when the site of San Francisco was a track- 
 less, uninhabited waste, the beautiful lines of one of 
 California's most gifted writers, Ira D. Colbraith, 
 come vividly to our memory : 
 
 " Little the goodly Fathers, 
 
 Building their Mission rude, 
 By the lone untraversed waters, 
 In the western solitude, 
 
 " Dreamed of the wonderful city, 
 That looks on the stately bay 
 Where the bannered ships of the natioijr 
 Float in their pride to-day; 
 
 " Dreamed of the beautiful city. 
 Proud on her tawny height, 
 And strange as a flower upspringing 
 To bloom in a single night. 
 
 " For lo ! but a moment lifting 
 The veil of the years away, 
 We look on a well-known picture, 
 That seems but as yesterday. 
 
 "The mist rolls in at the Gateway 
 Where never a fortress stands, 
 O'er the blossoms of Sancelito, 
 And Yerba Buena's sands; 
 
THE ANCIENT MISSION. \ 7 
 
 ••bwathing the shores where only 
 The sea-birds come and pass, 
 And drifts with the drifting waters, 
 By desolate Alcatraz ; 
 
 *• vVe hear, when night droops down we /r 1 . 
 And the bay throbs under the stars, 
 The ocean voices blending 
 With ripple of soft guitars; 
 
 " With chiming bells of the Mission, 
 With passionate minors sung, 
 Or a quaint Castilian ballad 
 Trilled in the Spanish tongue. 
 
 " Fair from thy hills, O city, 
 Look on the beautiful bay! 
 Prouder far is the vision 
 Greeting our eyes to-day; 
 
 • Better the thronged waters, 
 And the busy streets astir, 
 Purple and silken raiment, 
 Balsam and balm and myrrh; 
 
 ** Gems of the farther Indies, 
 
 Gold of thine own rich mine, 
 And the pride and boast of the peoples, 
 O beautiful queen, are thine ! 
 
 •« Praise to the goodly Fathers, 
 
 With banners of faith unfurled ! 
 Praise to the sturdy heroes 
 
 Who have won thee to the world I*' 
 
 Descending from these heights, the road — the 
 San Bruno turnpike — winds in and out for miles 
 along the bluff shores of the Bay of San Francisco, 
 and the views, changing at every turn, are wonder- 
 fully diversified and beautiful. At one point we saw 
 a land-locked basin, in which a dozen Italian fisher- 
 men's boats lay rocking idly, and at another we 
 2 
 
I g MY FIRST PASEAR. 
 
 paused to watch a party of "dagos," who were 
 wading in the bay up to their necks, hauling a seine, 
 while their telucca-rigged craft' rode at anchor as it 
 might have done in the Levant or the Grecian Ar- 
 chipelago. Cut out that section of the blue bay, 
 with the felucca and its crew of red-capped fisher- 
 men, put it into a frame, and you have a matchless 
 " Scene in the Levant," by one of the very oldest 
 of the masters. Great white pelicans winged their 
 way in silence over the waters, and flocks of gulls, 
 shaugs, and crooked-billed curlew, rose as we gal- 
 loped along. Long streamers of snowy vapor hung 
 out like flags of truce from the summits of the 
 mountains on the west, and looking back to the 
 north we saw the mist driving in through the Golden 
 Gate and scudding across the bay. 
 
 Leaving the shore of the bay at last, some ten or 
 twelve miles from San Francisco, we galloped over 
 an open plain, and at San Bruno crossed the South- 
 ern Pacific Railroad track, and turned by a by-road 
 into a long, winding canon leading up to the summit 
 of a range of hills to the westward, between which 
 and the higher and forest-crowned Sierra Morena, 
 still farther on towards the sea, lies, hidden wholly 
 from the outer world, the lovely valley of San An- 
 dreas. The plain upon the western shore of the 
 bay, and all the Contra Costa and Alameda valley 
 and hill country on the eastern side, was brown ; 
 and dry, and sear as it ever is in the interior of 
 California in summer and autumn ; and the valley 
 of San Andreas, embowered in shade, and the cool, 
 green, mist-nourished forests on the mountains bo- 
 
JOHN CHINAMAN. Y g 
 
 yond it, grew more beautiful by the contrast as we 
 approached them. 
 
 The Spring Valley Water Company, which derives 
 its water supply for San Francisco from the head of 
 the Pillarcitos Creek, in the redwoods, some forty 
 miles south of the city, and has a beautiful lake for 
 a reservoir in the mountains, was here building 
 another reservoir, equal in size to anything on the 
 continent. A dam, seventy feet high, with founda- 
 tions sixty feet deep, has been thrown across the 
 valley ; and the waters of the San Andreas, thus 
 thrown back, form a lake two miles and a half long, 
 and containing one thousand million gallons. This 
 is held as a reserve supply for dry seasons. John 
 Chinaman did the work, with white men as superin- 
 tendents, and, as is his custom, did it well. He was 
 then at work, in the same quiet, methodical way, 
 making bricks for the barriers of the flood-gates. 
 John is a law unto himself, and can do a wonderful 
 amount of minding his own business within a given 
 time. Pay him regularly what you agree to, give 
 him his New Year's holidays, and a chance to supply 
 himself with chicken and duck for his Sunday dinner 
 and rice for his regular daily rations at fair rates, 
 and he is contentment itself. The question of 
 woman suffrage does not worry him, eight-hour 
 1 aws he holds in contempt, and no lazy, "jaw-working 
 demagogues can fool him with their plausible soph- 
 istries into agrarian combinations, strikes, and riots. 
 He is a philosopher in his way, and not without claims 
 to respect and better treatment than he usually gets 
 from his Caucasian " betters." 
 
2 MY FIRST PASEAR. 
 
 Winding down the hill-side and around the great 
 reservoir, we entei the valley of San Andreas just 
 as the sun is sinking in the roseate bank of fleecy 
 mist which, like a great snow-drift, is piled up against 
 the mountains on the west to their very summits. 
 The bare plain, and brown, verdureless hills weary 
 the eye no longer, but instead fresh green chaparral 
 and tall, full-foliaged trees stretch out on every side, 
 and we ride down a road embowered with shrubbery, 
 and dark with the cool shadows of evening. Coveys 
 of tufted quail rise and whirr away as we gallop on, 
 and rabbits creep into the bushes at every turn in 
 the road. At the entrance of a canon stands a cot- 
 tage, shaded by broad, spreading oaks and fragrant 
 bay-trees ; and by the door, book in hand, sits a fair 
 young daughter of California, with great brown eyes, 
 as beautiful as those of a sea-lion, — I can think of 
 no more complimentary simile. She tells us that 
 game is swarming, and that there will be rare sport 
 for the hunters after the 15th of September, when 
 the prohibition on shooting is removed. A huge 
 grizzly took possession of the pasture on the hill- 
 side opposite the house some weeks previously, and 
 stayed there undisturbed for a fortnight, only leaving 
 when the wild clover, upon which he came to luxuri- 
 ate, failed. Deer are seen almost daily, and a few 
 days before a lynx, or wild-cat, or California lion, — 
 the women could not tell which, — came down to the 
 cottage in broad daylight, caught a fowl, and sat 
 down by the door to eat it. A lady threw a shoe at 
 the creature, which thereupon trotted off, with a 
 growl, carrying his stolen dinner with him. 
 
HARRY LINDEN S LOT. 2[ 
 
 How vivid is my recollection of my first pasedr in 
 the valley of San Andreas ! I had started out from 
 San Francisco at the urgent solicitation of my old 
 friend Col. Harry Linden, who then lived here upon 
 an extensive mountain rancho, a part of the Domingc 
 Feliz Rancho, determined to leave work and the 
 wearing cares of business behind me, and have one 
 good, quiet pasedr with him in his bachelor haunts 
 in the hills. I had brought along my gun and any 
 amount of ammunition, with a good supply of fishing- 
 tackle as well, and was determined to be up with 
 the dawn and make it very lively indeed for every- 
 thing which wore feathers, fur, or scales, during my 
 stay. In the early evening I arrived at t'le house, 
 and was warmly welcomed by Harry, and introduced 
 to the ladies of the family ; it was not exactly a 
 bachelor's lot after all, and Harry, as I found, was a 
 boarder and a petted member of a pleasant and re- 
 fined social circle, not the solitary tenant of a com- 
 fortless lumberman's or ranchero's cabin, as I had 
 fancied him. We left the ladies sitting under the 
 trees, and went in to supper. Harry has always 
 been fancying himself a farmer, and many is the 
 good joke that has been perpetrated upon him in the 
 agricultural line. At that time he had been doing 
 a big thing in that way. An enthusiastic farmer 
 of Alameda County had imported, for seed, from 
 Scotland, at great expense, a quantity of black 
 Scotch oats, such as are used for making oatmeal 
 in the " land o' cakes." He was very choice with 
 them ; would only part with them at one dollar per 
 pound, and, in liN anxiety to introduce them as 
 
2 2 MY FIRST PASEAR. 
 
 widely and generally as possible among the farmers 
 of California, had made a positive rule to sell only 
 one pound to any one individual. Harry, not a 
 whit less enthusiastic than himself, and, if possible, 
 a little more public-spirited, determined to have a 
 field of those oats which would astonish the natives. 
 So he went around among his friends, and got them 
 to go one at a time to his importing friend, and pur- 
 chase a pound of the precious oats, each on the 
 pretext of desiring to plant them in their gardens 
 to raise seed for hypothetical ranches in the country 
 for next season. His virtue and perseverance were 
 fully rewarded. He succeeded in getting together, 
 in this manner, fifty-seven pounds of the coveted 
 oats, which he proceeded to sow in a nicely pre- 
 pared field of goodly extent. He had sown many 
 a field with oats of the wildest variety in his younger 
 days, but never had he regarded the expected crop 
 with such blissful anticipations as in this case. He 
 watched and waited. Days grew into weeks, and 
 weeks into months, and still no green sprout showed 
 Itself abovj the surface of that promising field. 
 Painful doubts began to oppress his bosom. He 
 dug down and found some of the oats ; they were 
 just in the condition in which they were first put 
 into the earth. Sore afflicted in mind, he waited yet 
 a little longer, tried them again, and with the same 
 result. Then he hurried away to his friend, the 
 public-spirited importer, and sought an explanation 
 of the mystery. It was easily given. He, the 
 importer, had written to a friend in Edinburgh for 
 " One thousand pounds of black oats such as are 
 
GOOD RESOLUTIONS. 
 
 23 
 
 Dest liked in Scotland tor making oatmeal, clean and 
 thoroughly dry before packing for shipment." The 
 order had been filled conscientiously. The best ones 
 for making oatmeal are of course kiln-dried, and to 
 insure their coming in good condition the shippers 
 had taken the precaution to have them dried in an 
 extra hot kiln. They would have made oatmeal, a 
 single pound of which would have kept a Scotchman 
 on the scratch for a year ; but for agricultural pur- 
 poses he might as well have sown so many hailstones 
 or shoe pegs. Had he written that he wanted them 
 for seed, the matter-of-fact Scotch shippers would 
 have sent him seed oats ; but he wrote for best oat- 
 meal-producing oats, and they sent them. The joke 
 had just got out, and we discussed it at supper with 
 hearty relish, and one joke and story brought on 
 another until the waning hours admonished us it 
 was time to retire for the night. 
 
 No one ever had a larger stock in trade, in the 
 shape of good resolutions, than myself. I allow 
 nobody to beat me in that line, whatever may be 
 my short-comings in other matters. After a glori- 
 ous night's sleep 1 awoke with the warm sunlight 
 pouring in at my window, and the sweet song of 
 wild birds falling on my ears. As I have said, I had 
 come into this inexpressibly lovely and secluded 
 valley to hunt wild game, and fish for mountain trout, 
 and I arose with the firmest resolution to swallow a 
 hasty and early breakfast, saddle up, and be off into 
 the hills without the loss of a moment's time. The 
 matter or breaKias,. was soon disposed of, and I 
 went out into tne open air and the sunshine. Great 
 
24 
 
 MY 1'lKSi rAs&siK. 
 
 spreading buckeyes and California laurels, die fra- 
 grant bay, stood in groups all around the house ; 
 and between two gnarled tree trunks, in the fragrant 
 shade, I saw a hammock swinging temptingly, 
 fhere was a world of romance and dreainv remem- 
 orances of other days and tropic climes in tlie sight* 
 and — shall I say it? — the cherished daughter of the 
 house, she of the soft rippling hair, and great brown 
 eyes, sat near the hammock, in the shade, with an 
 open book before her. To see how it would seem 
 to swing in a hammock in the shade once more, I 
 stretched myself therein, and, to complete the repro- 
 duction of my dream of the tropics, drew out a bunch 
 of fragrant cigarritas, — genuine Havanas, from the 
 factory of " the Widow of Garcia," — rolled one, 
 lighted it, and engaged in conversation with my fair 
 young friend. I found her highly educated, refined, 
 accomplished, a glorious conversationalist, enter- 
 taining, and companionable. The smoke of that 
 cigarrita, and another, and another, and another, 
 went curling up in blue transparent wreaths, and 
 floated lazily away. The sunlight filtered through 
 the leaves in rippling streams of golden glory, and 
 the soft autumn breeze fanned my cheek and played 
 caressingly with the locks upon my forehead, grey 
 and harsh no more, but curly and raven-hued again, 
 " in my mind's eye, Horatio." The view down the 
 valley, between hills on one side clad in deepest 
 green, on the other in brightest gold, to the great 
 Canada del Raymundo and the high, forest-crowned 
 mountains of Santa Clara, enveloped in, and glorified 
 bv. the soft blue haze of the September morning, 
 
,4 ; •• i\3S 
 
 A DREAM OF TIIK TROPICS.— Seepage 25. 
 
EVENING ON THE MOORLA V/.'S 
 
 25 
 
 was poetry itself; and, beggar that I am, I swung in 
 that hammock, smoked the fragrant ci^arritas, and 
 talked of books and poetry and travel in foreign 
 lands, with that fair daughter of the Golden Land, 
 until four o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 I ought to say that I am ashamed of myself; but 
 I am not. I glory in my shame ! I would do it 
 again, and think none the less of myself and my 
 fellow-man — and woman — for so doing. And so 
 would you, my reader, or you are no friend of mine, 
 —a blockhead, an idiot, a confirmed misanthrope, or 
 something worse. If you do not sympathize with 
 me in this feeling, drop the book right here, and 
 never take it up again ; you and I will not do to 
 travel together. 
 
 All earthly things end sometime and somewhere, 
 and my siesta followed the rule. At four o'clock I 
 saddled up old Don Benito, who had been neighing 
 and manifesting his impatience to be otf for hours, 
 and, with Linden, rode up a long, winding pathway 
 in the canon, through the thick, overhanging forest 
 of laurel, madrono, live-oak, tea-oak cconotus, buck- 
 eye, and wild cherry, to the summit of the high hill 
 range, above the valley upon the west. Doves, and 
 pretty, tufted California quail rose up and whirred 
 away into the thickets as we rode along, and rabbits 
 and hares ran before us in the pathway, affording us 
 abundant opportunity for using our guns. 
 
 On the summit of the range was a fine wheat-field 
 of two or three hundred acres, and there the birds 
 fairly swarmed. We used our guns until the snort 
 became such no longer, and then threw ourselves 
 
26 MY FIRST P4SEAR. 
 
 duwn upon the grass under a tree to admire the 
 quiet beauty and subdued grandeur of the scene, 
 and talk of old times and plans for the future. 
 Eastward, miles away beyond the valley of San 
 Andreas, the lower hill range and the wide marsh- 
 lands, but seemingly at our very feet, lay the blue 
 Bay of San Francisco, flecked here and there with 
 the white sails of ships. Beyond this lay a bank of 
 semi-transparent vapor, which had drifted in through 
 the Golden Gate and over from the city of San 
 Francisco, and grown coralline and roseate-hued 
 with the warm rays of the setting sun. This vapor 
 half concealed the shores of Alameda and Contra 
 Costa, on the eastern side of the bay, and made the 
 high hills of those counties appear to come down 
 bold and precipitous to the very water's edge, the 
 intervening valley, miles in width, having wholly dis- 
 appeared. High above these hills, magnified and 
 lifted up as it were, and made to look far higher than 
 he really is, loomed, like a thunder-cloud against the. 
 deep blue sky, the dark head of Mount Diablo. 
 
 Looking westward, at our feet was a deep canon, 
 beyond which was another range of hills, or more 
 properly mountains, the real coast range, shutting 
 out the view of the sea. These mountains are. 
 covered with a dark, redwood forest at the summit, 
 kept dripping wet by the mist Irom die Pacific 
 which rolls up over them in an unceasing torrent, 
 white as an Alpine avalanche, all day long. An 
 effect is here produced of which I despair of being 
 able to give anything like an adequate description. 
 The white vapor came rushing over to the. eastward 
 
THE AVALANCHE FROM THE PACIFIC. 
 
 27 
 
 towards us, with a current like that of a thousand 
 Niagaras rolled into one, and the beholder expects 
 every moment to see it come down the slope, cross 
 over the intervening - canon, and overwhelm him : 
 but stay as long as he may, for hours, days, months, 
 or years, it comes never a rod nearer to him. As 
 it meets the hot air ascending from the dry valleys, 
 it is dissipated at a certain point and disappears. 
 You behold a mighty avalanche, white and solid in 
 appearance as Alpine snows, ever advancing to 
 overwhelm you, but never reaching you. Two 
 great eagles with snow-white heads circled around 
 and around over the dark canon below us, in which 
 they had their nest. There was not a sound save 
 that of our own voices to break the stillness of the 
 evening, and, save \vhat I have described, not a sign 
 of life to mar the solitude of the scene. The high, 
 rugged mountains of Santa Clara and Santa Cruz, 
 robed in deep-green chemisal and crowned with 
 feathery redwoods, bounded the view on the south, 
 and made a fitting frame for the glorious picture 
 before us. What wonder that we gazed noon the 
 enchanting scene, fairly reveling in the feast of 
 beauty and sublimity nature had spread before us 
 with such a lavish hand, until the gathering shadows 
 of night admonished us that it was time to remount 
 our impatient steeds and descend once more to the 
 valley ! 
 
 The full, round moon was in the heavens, throwing 
 her mellow light o'er all that fairy landscape, as we 
 descended from the mountain height, and in fancy 
 we were once more wandering" in the mountains of 
 
2 3 MY FIRST PASEAR. 
 
 Sonora, or in the savage deserts of Arizona, masters 
 only of the good steeds beneath us, and trusting 
 only to the mercy of God and the good weapons in 
 our hands and at our saddle-bows for the safety of 
 our lives. 
 
 After supper we sat beneath the trees around the 
 hospitable casa of our friend, and rehearsed the ad- 
 ventures and scenes of old times with a relish the 
 stranger to wild frontier life can never know. 
 Harry Linden is my senior by some years, and in 
 the ordinary course of nature and civilized life 
 should have lost his early penchant for Robinson 
 Crusoe-like adventure ; but such is the fascination 
 of border life that I believe that at this very hour 
 he would exchange all the comforts of the most 
 elegant home in San Francisco or New York, and 
 the best spring mattress ever made, for a seat by 
 the camp-fire in Apache land, and a blanket and the 
 warm sand of die desert for a bed, — and I am just 
 boy enough to do the same at a moment's notice, 
 did opportunity offer and duty permit. Sitting here 
 under the trees in the valley of San Andreas, sur- 
 rounded by appreciative friends and the enjoyments 
 of refined society, he tells us of a long-planned ex- 
 pedition to the least known of the island groups of 
 the Pacific, how one of these days he means to have 
 his vessel rigged, manned, and provisioned for the 
 trip ; and laugh as we may at the idea of his going 
 on such a voyage at his age, nothing will shake his 
 earnestness in the project, or make him admit for 
 an instant a doubt of his ultimately carrying it out 
 successfully. This charm of danger needlessly in- 
 
THE END OE MY PASEAR. 
 
 2 9 
 
 curred, toil seif-imposed, and reckless adventure in 
 unknown lands, once felt, becomes a part of one's 
 very, being, and never fully loses its influence while 
 life remains. 
 
 Next day my fair friend showed me where to fish 
 for the largest trout, helped me with her own white 
 hands to prepare the tackle, and took part with us 
 in the sport. A few more hours of swinging in the 
 hammock, the last cigarrito was smoked, the last 
 story told, and reluctantly I bade my kind friends 
 of the valley of San Andreas good-by, beneath the 
 laurel- and the buckeye-trees, and, mounting old 
 Don Benito, galloped away toward the Golden 
 City. 
 
 We are always happier for having been happy 
 once ; and I have lived longer, and I hope better, 
 and enjoyed life more, for the recollection of that 
 first pasedr to the valley of San Andreas. And 
 here, as we meet again to-night, the pleasant mem- 
 ory comes back to us and we talk it over once again 
 with keenest satisfaction. In taking leave of our 
 fair young friend I tell her that I start for Mexico 
 in a few days for a long pasedr under tropic skies ; 
 and, as we ride away in the gloaming of the evening, 
 she bows gravely, and, in the soft Castilian tongue, 
 as is the custom of the people in Spanish lands, 
 bids me "Adios, Amigo /" adding, with a trace of 
 something more than mere conventional politeness 
 in ner voice, " And the peace of God be with you!" 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 The Crystal Springs. — The Music of the Night. — The California Night-Singet 
 and the Legend of the Easter Eggs. — The Canada del Reymundo. — Over 
 the Sierra Morena. — Down the Coast. — Pescadero and its Surroundings. 
 — Pigeon Point and the Wrecks. — A Shipwrecked Ghost. — The Coast 
 Whalers and their Superstitions. — An Embarcadero on the San Mateo 
 Coast. — Ride to Point Anno Xuevo. 
 
 Riding on southward clown the valley of San 
 Andreas in the cool, quiet evening, we came to the 
 Crystal Springs, one of the most beautiful of the 
 summer resorts in the vicinity of San Francisco. 
 There is a fine, large hotel, with a broad piazza all 
 around it, just the place to sit and smoke a good 
 cigar, have a quiet talk with your friends, and ad- 
 mire the beauty of the surrounding scenery, brought 
 out in all its loveliness by the full autumn moon 
 which was pouring down its full flood of mellow 
 light upon the scene. The San Mateo Creek runs 
 through a wild, tangled thicket in front of the house ; 
 parterres of flowers of every hue, in full bloom, till 
 the intervening grounds ; and on the west the steep 
 mountain sweeps around in a grand curve, forming a 
 magnificent amphitheatre beside which the Coliseum 
 is but the toy playhouse of a child. Away back in 
 
 ' 3° ) 
 
THE MUSIC OF THE NIGHT. 
 
 3* 
 
 the air, cutting sharply against the horizon, stand 
 great pines, from whose broad-spreading branches 
 rioat long steamers of green-gray moss, giving an 
 air of great are and venerableness to the forest. 
 Densely wooded are all the intervening hill-sides 
 with the fragrant laurel, tea-oak and many flowering 
 shrubs interwoven with the glorious madrono 
 whose crown of brio-lit- green leaves contrasts so 
 pleasingly with its bark of brilliant scarlet — the 
 madrono ouo-ht to be the favorite tree with the 
 Fenian Brotherhood, who are so fond of seeing the 
 green above the red. Sitting on the broad piazza, 
 in the cool evening, we hear the whistle of the lo- 
 comotive at San Mateo, only four miles away over 
 the hills to the eastward. As the last faint echoes 
 die away in the canons, a coyote wolf, which has 
 been prowling stealthily in the vicinity of the hotel, 
 sets up a sharp, shrill yell in answer. Other wolves, 
 far and near — there may be half a dozen of them, 
 but it seems as if there were a thousand — take up 
 the cry, and in an instant the woods and the night 
 are filled with music, not exactly such as Longfellow 
 sinews of, but which for want of better will serve to 
 induce "the cares which infest the day" to "fold 
 their tents like the Arab, and as silently steal away." 
 Half a dozen huge Newfoundland dog's, good- 
 natured, lazy fellows enough at the best, but anxious 
 to convince the generous public that they are of 
 some importance in the world, and make a show of 
 earning their bread and butter now that their master 
 is at home, roused from their slumbers by the howl- 
 
~ 9 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 ing of the coyote, with loud yells dash off into the 
 woods, as if determined to exterminate the whole 
 vile race right there and then, taking good care, 
 however, to yelp their very loudest at every jump, 
 that the gentlemen in gray may have abundant 
 notice of their coming, and get out of the way in 
 time to avoid unpleasant results to either party. I 
 have known valiant duelists start out from San 
 Francisco to shed each other's blood, but manage to 
 produce much the same result by simply making so 
 much noise as to attract the attention of the police, 
 and insure the arrest of one or both parties before 
 reaching the field of honor. Instinct and reason 
 are much the same in their practical workings after all. 
 When the wolves have decamped, and the dogs, 
 with the air of conquering heroes, have returned 
 from the bloodless campaign, and turned in for the 
 night, the cigars are smoked out and the stories 
 told, our company breaks up, and we retire for the 
 nighL. Through the open window comes at inter- 
 vals a sweeter music than that to which we have 
 just been listening: the low, sweet song of a little 
 bird of the finch species, which is found, though not 
 in great abundance, in all the coast range country 
 of California. This little night-singer stays con- 
 cealed in the thickets all day, uttering no note to 
 give notice of his whereabouts ; but when the cool 
 shadows of the evening fall it comes forth into the 
 gardens, and through all the long hours of the other- 
 wise silent night, pours out its sweet and plaintive 
 song as if in mourning for the loved and lost. In 
 
THE CALIFORNIA NIGHT-SINGER. 
 
 33 
 
 size and form it is not unlike the common wild 
 California canary, to which it is doubtless allied; 
 but, curiously enough for a night-singer, its plumage 
 is far more brilliant and beautiful, — green, orange, 
 and blue, with a narrow bar of red on the wino-s. 
 I have never been able to see it save in captivity, 
 but many a night have I lain awake in my home on 
 Russian Hill, in San Francisco, and listened to its 
 plaintive little song as it flitted among the shrub- 
 bery in the garden, wondering what manner of 
 bird it might be. One clay a Mexican residing in 
 the western part of the city, who gains a livelihood 
 by trapping canaries and linnets, offered me a pair of 
 these little beauties for two dollars, apologizing for 
 the high price by saying that they were very rare and 
 caught with difficult)'. Struck by their beauty and 
 delicate brilliancy of plumage, I asked him if they 
 ever sang. " Oh, yes, senor; but only in the night. 
 You must remember the story of the bird which 
 sang all night before the tomb in which lay the body 
 of the Saviour of the world" — touching his hat re- 
 spectfully — "after the crucifixion? Well, sefior, 
 these birds are of the same!" 
 
 Then the story of the Eastef-night singer of far- 
 off Palestine, as I had heard it told in other lands, 
 came back me ; and going home I read with fresh 
 interest the beautiful lines by Fitzjames O'Brien: 
 
 " You have heard, my boy, of the One who died, 
 Crowned with keen thorns and crucified ; 
 And how Joseph the wealthy — whom God reward — 
 Caicd for the corpse of the martyred Lord, 
 And piously tombed it within the rock, 
 Ar.d closed the gate with a mighty block. 
 
 a 
 
34 
 
 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 " Now, close by the tomb, a fair tree grew, 
 With pendulous leaves and blossoms of blue; 
 And deep in the green tree's shadowy breast 
 A beautiful singing-bird on her nest, 
 Which was bordered with mosses like malachite 
 And held four eggs of an ivory white. 
 
 " No»v, when the bird from her dim recess 
 Beheld the Lord in his burial dress, 
 And looked on the heavenly face so pale, 
 And the dear feet pierced with the cruel nail, 
 Her heart now broke with a sudden \ ang. 
 And out of the depth of her sorrow she sang. 
 
 " All night long, till the moon was up, 
 She sat and sang in her moss-wreathed cup 
 A song of sorrow, as wild and shrill 
 As the homeless wind when it loams the hill ; 
 So full of tears, so loud and long, 
 That the grief of the world seemed turned to song. 
 
 " But soon there came, through the weeping night, 
 A glimmering angel clothed in while ; 
 And he rolled the stone from the tomb away, 
 Where the Lord of the earth and the heavens lay ; 
 And Christ arose in the cavern's gloom, 
 And in living lustre came from the tomb. 
 
 " Now the bird that sat in the heart of the tree 
 Beheld the celestial mystery, 
 And its heart was filled with a sweet delight, 
 And it poured a song on the throbbing night ; 
 Notes climbing notes, still higher, higher, 
 They shoot to heaven like spears of fire. 
 
 " When the glittering, white-robed angel heard 
 The sorrowing song of that grieving bird, 
 And heard the following chant of mirth, 
 That hailed Christ, risen from the earth, 
 He said, ' Sweet bird, be forever blest ; 
 Thyself, thy eggs, and thy moss-wreathed nest,' 
 
 " And ever, my child, since that blessed night, 
 When death bowed down to the Lord of light, 
 
OVER THE SIERRA MORENA MOUNTAIKS. ,h 
 
 The eggs of that sweet bird change their hue, 
 And burn with red, and gold, and blue ; 
 Reminding mankind, in their simple way, 
 Of the holy marvel of Easter-day." 
 
 1 know that in a little time the march of reason 
 will sweep this old tradition, as it has already swept 
 away others which were once regarded as essentials 
 of the Christian faith ; nevertheless I envied the 
 simple, uneducated bird-catcher his childlike, un- 
 questioning belief, and the song of the sweet night- 
 singer of California will ever henceforth fall upon 
 my ear more gratefully for its pleasant association 
 with that story of holy marvel, which, although 
 some of us may doubt, we must surely all alike 
 admire. 
 
 The sun was high in the heavens, next day, when 
 I said good-by to Albert at Crystal Springs, and 
 rode away into the Sierra Morena Mountains. It 
 was a California autumn morning, — and, in saying 
 that, I have left nothing unsaid in the way of descrip- 
 tion. Turning southwestward, the road, one of the 
 finest I have ever ridden over, winds round and 
 round, in and out, along the steep sides of a deep, 
 rocky canon, for miles, ascending by regular and 
 easy grades the dividing ridge between the Bay of 
 San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean. When nearly 
 at the summit I paused to rest my panting horse and 
 look back upon the scene below. And such a 
 scene ! It was a variation of that described in the 
 story of my pasedr, but, if possible, even more en- 
 trancingly beautiful. Eastward, the Bay of San 
 Francisco, cairn, unruffled, and blue, glittered in the 
 
~6 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 sun. The ocean mists rolling in through the Golden 
 Gate half hid the towns which skirt the bay. The 
 hills of Alameda, high and etherealized, rested like 
 great straw-colored and purple clouds against the 
 horizon; while Mount Diablo, monarch of the in- 
 land country, reared his dark head into the blue sky, 
 above the mists and the lower mountains, like some 
 great rocky island, seen from the shores of an un- 
 known sea. Southward, between the hills of San 
 Mateo and the Sierra Morena, stretching away for 
 miles toward the redwood-covered heights of Santa 
 Clara, lay the ever- beautiful Canada del Reymundo. 
 Live-oak groves are scattered through it, and near 
 its centre rests a quiet little lake, with an island of 
 green tules in the middle. All around the sides of the 
 valley, among the groves in the little canons, nestle 
 quiet farm-houses, and in the centre, upon an elevated 
 mesa, stands the last relic of the old semi- feudal Span- 
 ish-American times. This is an adobe house of one 
 story, with broad veranda, formed by the wide roof 
 being carried out all around. No garden, no grain- 
 fields, not a single fruit-tree flourishes near it. The 
 ranchero who built it and dwelt here among his herds, 
 and paid tribute to the Holy Mother Church and the 
 Most Catholic monarch, Don Carlos "of Spain, and 
 India King," some eighty years ago, thought the 
 country capable of no higher improvement, and 
 dreamed not of the paradise it was to become when he 
 and his should give place to the stranger who dwelt 
 beyond the great Sierra Nevada somewhere. He 
 built no roads, planted no trees, and left behind only 
 
OVER «V7W ZIB.RRA MO REN A MOUNTAINS. 
 
 37 
 
 i.iis lov/-roofed jaical, and die musical Spanish name 
 which he gave to the valley. 
 
 On again. One of those curious blue-and-brown 
 birds, with peaked cap and tail as disproportionately 
 long as that of a peacock, called here a " Road 
 Runner," and in Mexico "£/ Correro del Camino" — 
 the courier of the road, — which never flies if it can 
 avoid it, but runs with a speed which distances the 
 fleetest horse, darted along in the road ahead of us. 
 I galloped after it, vainly trying to get within shoot- 
 ng distance, until, tired of the sport, it jumped over 
 the side 01 the mountain and disappeared in the 
 bushes of the canon below. The road is cut most 
 of the way out of the solid rock, and you look down 
 from time to time almost perpendicularly into canons 
 hundreds and hundreds of feet. It is a succession, 
 on a modified scale, of Cape Horn and the scenery 
 on the South Fork of the American River in the 
 Sierra Nevada, on the Central Pacific Railroad 
 route, and at the same time on a scale quite large 
 enough to try to the utmost the nerves of timid 
 travelers. 
 
 The flying mists, which had been scudding in 
 broken clouds over the sierra, lifted and rolled 
 away as I crossed the summit and began to descend 
 towards Spanish Town. The Pillar, 'tos Creek 
 murmured hundreds of feet below, i; ; the narrow 
 canon, near the mouth of which, half hidden in 
 shade-trees, is the hamlet of Spanish Town. Be- 
 yond rolls the deep-blue waters of the broad Pacific, 
 iind Half-Moon Bay lies a few miles to the north- 
 ward. I pass a wayside house where the yard is 
 
.,g [N THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 full of goats and everything speaks of Spanish- 
 Americanism. 
 
 A woman with lustrous black hair and eyes, and 
 oval, olive-hued face, comes out with her black shawl 
 or rebosa, folded Andalusian fashion around her head 
 and shoulders. The Moors left those eyes, and that 
 oval face and tawny-olive skin, in Spain ; but the 
 little girl who follows her has a fairer complexion, 
 a sharper-cut face, and light-brown hair. Thus, 
 little by little, we arc conquering Spanish-America. 
 At a little roadside grocery a whole family of Mex- 
 ican or native Californians are in attendance. I 
 called for a real's (ten cents) worth of apples, and 
 they weighed me out four pounds ; one holding the 
 scales, another putting in the apples in a pail which 
 a third held, while the rest looked on. It took the 
 whole family to sell just ten apples; but such is "<?/ 
 costumbre del pais, seiior" — the custom of the coun- 
 try, sir ; and who is to commit the sacrilege of inno- 
 vation? 
 
 Two miles above Spanish Town, at the toll-gate, 
 is a small, neat farm, owned by an intelligent Amer- 
 ican, past the meridian of life. As he came out to 
 take the toll, I en^a^ed him in conversation. He 
 has one hundred and sixty acres, nearly one hun- 
 dred of which are under cultivation. In the valley 
 he raises beans, onions, fruit, etc., and on the hill- 
 tops he has his early potato-fields, from which he 
 sends to market the finest potatoes in December, 
 January and February, after the lowland crops have 
 become "old" and less salable. He has three acres 
 of strawberries in full bearing. These he irrigates, 
 
SPANISH TOWN AND NEIGHBORHOOD. -, Q 
 
 and thus secures line crops all the year round. He 
 sometimes gets as high as a dollar per pound for 
 strawberries at Christmas and New Year's, and he 
 estimates that the crop yields him, on an average, 
 twenty cents per pound in coin the year round. 
 He has no family, and wants to sell out and go to 
 Santa Barbara, where he has relatives. He thinks 
 his farm, with improvements, is worth forty dollars 
 per acre. The potato and onion-fields he rents to 
 a party of Portuguese. There is a family of Mexi- 
 cans upon the upper end of his ranche, but most of 
 his neighbors are Germans,, though the population 
 of the town is about equally divided between native 
 Californians, Americans and Europeans. His sole 
 companion is a Chinaman, who carries on the straw- 
 berry culture and does the housework, and is, as he 
 told me, worth any other two men, though he gets 
 but two thirds the wages. He could not say much 
 for the society of the neighborhood, nor can I. 
 
 Spanish Town contains little to attract a stranger. 
 Turning southward here, the road runs through a 
 rich, sloping plain, between the ocean and the moun- 
 tains, and for eight on ten miles passes through one 
 continued grain- field. The country was parceled 
 out at first in great ranches of many thousand acres, 
 each held under Spanish or Mexican grants. These 
 have been sold to Americans, and cut up to some 
 extent into smaller portions, but the farms are still 
 immense, and far too large for the most profitable 
 cultivation. Barley and oats, principally the latter, 
 are cultivated. The crop was cut months ago, but 
 owing to the lack of "steamers," as the inhabitants 
 
4Q IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 here term the steam thrashing machine, most of it 
 still lies in the fields unfathered. The straw be- 
 comes blackened by the fog, but the grain does not 
 seem to suffer much. Thrashers were at work all 
 along the road, and great piles of grain in sacks 
 waiting to be hauled to Half-Moon Bay and shipped 
 to San Francisco, were seen in many fields. The 
 harvesting is done mainly by extra hands hired by 
 the day. I met dozens of them tramping along the 
 dusty roads, with their blankets on their backs. 
 They do not stay long in a place, but get from two 
 to three dollars in coin and their board for such 
 time as they work, and then move on. Some of the 
 old California Mission Indians still reside here, and 
 work in the fields ; and Chinamen are making their 
 way on the farms and in the dairy. They get from 
 fifteen dollars per month to nine dollars and fifty 
 cents per week, and board themselves. A few get 
 as much as two dollars per day in the harvest fields, 
 and are highly spoken of by the farmers, many of 
 whom, however, are afraid to give them employ- 
 ment, lest their fields of grain and stacks should be 
 fired in revenge by the European laborers, who are 
 savagely opposed to them. The farms in the hills 
 are smaller and more closely cultivated. Onions, 
 beets and mustard are largely grown. 
 
 The oreat beets of California are amonof her 
 vegetable wonders, and have often sorely taxed the 
 credulity of Eastern people. Californian though I 
 am, I must own up that there is something just a 
 trifle like an imposition on outsiders in this matter 
 of the production of these mammoth beets. This 
 
DOWN THE COAST. » x 
 
 is the way the thing is done. The largest beet in 
 this soil may attain a weight of fifty or sixty pounds 
 the first year ; I do not think any grow larger. 
 One is selected, carefully dug up, so as not to in- 
 jure the root, in the fall, and housed during the 
 rainy season. Then it is replanted in the spring, 
 and instead of going to seed, as it would if left in 
 the ground all winter, continues growing, and in the 
 fall it is again dug up and housed, having probably 
 attained a weight of eight} or ninety pounds. Next 
 year it grows perhaps to one hundred or one hun- 
 dred and ten pounds — the largest on record weighed 
 one hundred and eighteen pounds, and was raised 
 in Santa Cruz county — but now it is "played out," 
 in California parlance, and will not grow another 
 year. How they manage to raise lettuce seven feet 
 in circumference, and cucumbers five feet two inches 
 loner and eiofht inches in circumference, such as are 
 often on exhibition in the California Market, San 
 Francisco, I do not know — but they do it. 
 
 The soil here is wonderfully rich, and often, as I 
 have seen myself, from ten to twenty feet in depth, 
 of a black loam, like that of the western prairies. 
 
 The road winds along the bold shore of the 
 Pacific for miles — now passing over steep divides, 
 and again descending to the bottom of precipitous 
 canons. At times the view of the ocean, for a lono- 
 distance up and down the coast, is unobstructed, 
 and from one height I counted not less than fifteen 
 whales spouting at intervals as they sported in the 
 calm blue waters, or sought their accustomed food 
 
42 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 along the edges of the kelp-fields, which in many- 
 places extend far out to sea. Whales have their 
 parasites and minor annoyances as land-lubbers 
 have, and sometimes they become so annoyed by 
 the barnacles which fix themselves upon them that 
 they run into shallow water and endeavor to rid 
 themselves of their tormentors by rubbing their 
 huge carcasses upon the sandy bottom. It not un- 
 frequently happens that in so doing they venture too 
 far in shore, and, being caught by the surf or the 
 receding tide, are stranded and finally left to die 
 high and dry upon the land. Every year whales 
 are thus stranded on the beach in the vicinity of 
 San Francisco, and their bones may be seen at fre- 
 quent intervals scattered all along the shore from 
 Point Lobos southward for many miles. 
 
 Meeting by the way an old Mission Indian, who, 
 as he told me, was born and had always lived near 
 Pescadero, and could hardly speak a word of En- 
 glish, though well posted in the Spanish tongue, I 
 asked him how far it was to Pescadero. "Possibly 
 a mile, or a league, or two leagues, sefior." "Well, 
 how far is it to Point Alio Nuevo?" "Oh, sefior, 
 it must be a very long way ! I think it is in the 
 neighborhood of the other world!" I have never 
 yet been able to get the remotest approximation to 
 a correct statement of distance from a California 
 Indian, those who were reared and educated by the 
 old padres at the Spanish missions being as utterly 
 ignorant on the subject as the diggers of the 
 mountains, who never knew or cared to know any- 
 thing beyond the condition of the grasshoppers on 
 
PESCADERO AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 43 
 
 which they fatten in the summer season, and the 
 acorn and pinon crops on which they subsist during 
 the winter. 
 
 After a ride of thirty miles from Crystal Springs, 
 done at a gallop, up hill and down, nearly all the 
 way, and in just four hours and ten minutes, I 
 reached the little town of Pescadero, in a small 
 but fertile valley some two miles from the ocean, a 
 popular summer resort for San Franciscans, and a 
 f.ivorite head-quarters of the hunters and fishermen 
 of the coast. The long ride had given me a savage 
 Appetite, and as the fog had drifted in from the 
 ocean, and shut clown cold and damp on the land- 
 scape, a broiled trout dinner and a warm wood-fire 
 never seemed more welcome than they did that 
 evening at Pescadero. 
 
 The population of Pescadero does not exceed 
 three hundred souls, who depend on the lumber- 
 mills in the great redwood forest, the dairies, the 
 grain and potato ranches, and summer visitors 
 from San Francisco, for life and trade. The heavy 
 fogs, and cold, raw ocean winds are unfavorable to 
 grapes and other fruits, but potatoes thrive wonder- 
 fully, and are extensively cultivated on the rich 
 bottom lands around the town. Half the "ground 
 fruit" consumed in San Francisco comes from this 
 section of the coast. An old ranchero told me that 
 for ten years the average price of potatoes had 
 been one dollar and twenty-five cents per hundred 
 pounds, and the usual yield from one hundred to 
 one hundred and twenty-five bags, at one hundred 
 and twenty-five pounds each, per acre. The digging 
 
44 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC 
 
 is done by native Californians, or "greasers." Land, 
 in the great ranches back on the road to Spanish 
 Town, is worth from forty to fifty dollars per acre, 
 but the potato lands, near this town, are worth one 
 hundred dollars, or even more. A few old California 
 Indians work in the fields quite faithfully after their 
 fashion, but none of the old hands equal the Chinaman 
 41 year out and year in." Much lumber is hauled from 
 the mountains, and, with potatoes, grain and vegeta- 
 bles, is shipped for San Francisco from the embarca- 
 dero at Pigeon Point, six miles south of Pescadero. 
 
 My stay in Pescadero being limited, mine host of 
 the Swanton House volunteered, Californian-like, to 
 take me down the coast to see the sights. A six- 
 mile ride over an open, rolling country, devoted 
 chiefly to grazing, brought us to Pigeon Point, a 
 famous place for wrecks, and a depot of the coast 
 whalers. It gets its name from the wreck of the 
 Carrier Pigeon, a noble clipper-ship which drifted in 
 here one night in the winter of 1853—4, and was 
 shattered to pieces upon the terrible reefs running 
 out from the foot of the bold promontory. Here, 
 on the high headland, are clustered some dozen 
 cottages, inhabited by the coast whalers and their 
 families. These men are all "Gees" — Portuguese 
 — from the Azores or Western Islands. They are 
 a stout, hardy-looking race, grossly ignorant, dirty, 
 and superstitious. They work hard, and are doing 
 well in business. As we rode up, two long, sharp, 
 single- masted boats, with odd-looking sails, shot out 
 to sea. On the Point, by the side of flag-staffs, on 
 
THE WHALES. 
 
 45 
 
 which signals were to be hoisted to gfuide the boats 
 in their pursuit, crouched two of the party with their 
 sea glasses, intently watching- the boats and sweep- 
 ing the horizon. 
 
 Are there any whales about? Oh, yes, plenty] 
 and the speaker handed us his glass. About three 
 miles out was a large school of the black, hump 
 back species sporting in the nearly smooth sea, 
 rising to the surface to blow, showing their black 
 backs, and going down again among the sardines 
 on which they were feeding. The boats run out 
 with sails set, and do not take in their canvas until 
 a whale is harpooned. If a new school is discovered, 
 the boats are signaled by the party on the Point. 
 Looking through the glass we saw the boats run- 
 ning for different whales. All was bustle and ex- 
 citement on board, the harpooners standing in the 
 bows ready to strike, and every man at his post. 
 One of the signal men could speak a little English, 
 and thus soliloquized for our benefit: "E blow, e 
 blow i One close herd starboard boat ! Carraho, 
 now he run ! Ze son of seacook, how he run ; dam 
 a he ! Believe myself he get away !" Then, car- 
 ried away by his feelings, he proceeded to curse in 
 good Portuguese, honestly and squarely, for fifteen 
 minutes, and I felt my respect for him rising almost 
 to the point of admiration. 
 
 Tired of watching, we at last started off to see 
 what else there was of interest at the station. 
 When we returned, near evening, the boats were 
 far down on the edge of the horizon, and had appa- 
 rently fastened to a whale, while another large 
 
+6 
 
 IN THE .VISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 school was playing undisturbed within half a mile 
 of the shore. The trypots were placed on the other 
 side of the Point, and there we found a party of 
 men busy extracting the oil from heaps of blubber 
 ready cut up from a huge humpback whale ; flukes 
 and wreck lay on the beach below. They were 
 dripping and fairly saturated with the oil, and every- 
 thing around was in the same condition. The stink- 
 ing fluid had run down the face of the bluff to the 
 water's edge, and the whole place was redolent oi 
 the perfume. A row of casks filled with oil testified 
 to the success of the business. The tryers told us 
 that they had cut up twelve whales already that 
 season, and had killed and lost ten more. The fall 
 season usually begins in October, but that year the 
 whales had come down from the Arctic regions a 
 month or six weeks earlier, and business had opened 
 good. Last year they caught only two humpbacks, 
 the rest being " California grays." This year, thus 
 far, the whales killed had all been humpbacks. A 
 good big fellow will yield one hundred barrels of 
 oil, but the average is perhaps thirty-five. Whale- 
 fishing is carried on in this manner at San Luis 
 Obispo, Monterey, and other points all along the 
 coast down to Cape St. Lucas. On the hill I noticed 
 a pile of the blubber scraps from which the oil had 
 been boiled, which are used for lighting fires to 
 guide the boats home on dark nights. Did it 
 ever by any possibility occur to these guileless 
 Gees, that a fire thus lighted at this high point 
 on a dark night might possibly be mistaken for a 
 li^bUiouse lipfht, and thus a noble vessel, freighted 
 
BAY AT PIGEON POINT. 
 
 47 
 
 with precious lives, and freight liable to get badly- 
 scattered when cast ashore by the waves, be lured 
 to destruction? There have been many wrecks 
 along this rocky coast, and underwriters seldom 
 secure much of the cargo. 
 
 There are no real harbors between San Francisco 
 and San Diego, about four hundred miles south, and 
 very few places where a vessel can in the fairest 
 weather run alongside a wharf to load or unload. 
 At Pigeon Point there is a semicircular bay, par- 
 tially sheltered from the northern winds, but the 
 heavy swells rolling in from the southwest prevent 
 any wharves being erected. Out about two hun- 
 dred yards from the shore is a high monument-like 
 rock, rising to a level with the steep rock bluff which 
 half incloses the bay. From the bluff to the top of 
 this rock stretches a heavy wire cable, kept taut by 
 a capstan. A vessel rounding the reef runs into 
 the sheltered cove under this hawser, and then casts 
 anchor. Slings running down on the hawser are 
 rigged, and her cargo lifted from her deck load by 
 load, run up into the air fifty to one hundred feet, 
 then hauled in shore, and landed upon the top of 
 the bluff. Lumber, hay in bales like cotton, fruit, 
 potatoes, vegetables, dairy products, etc., etc., are 
 in like manner run out and lowered at the ri^ht 
 moment upon the vessel's decks. If a southwester 
 comes on she slips her anchor and runs out to sea 
 till it is over. This system is in extensive use along 
 the coast, though in some places lighters and tugs 
 are employed to load and unload. 
 
 This part of the coast has a terrible name, and 
 
4 8 
 
 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC 
 
 may well be dreaded by sailors. Six miles south ol 
 Pigeon Point is Point Ano Nuevo (New Year). 
 The shore between bends inward, and all along 
 black reefs of rocks rear their ugly fangs, like wild 
 beasts watching for their prey. A current sweeps 
 in from Point Ano Nuevo toward Pigeon Point, and 
 many a vessel has been drawn in in the fog, to be 
 dashed on the rocks. Off Point Ano Nuevo is a 
 desert island of three or four acres of sand and 
 rocks, a favorite resort of sea-lions and sea-birds. 
 On this island the United States government pro- 
 posed to erect a lighthouse, but the owners of the 
 great Spanish ranch of seventeen thousand acres, 
 to whom it belongs, asked forty thousand dollars for 
 a deed of it, — they bought the whole grant originally 
 for about twenty thousand dollars, and have real- 
 ized twice that sum from partial sales ; and so it 
 was decided to place it on Pigeon Point, where a 
 site equally as good was secured for five thousand 
 dollars. Ultimately the demand for a site at Point 
 Ano Nuevo, at something like a reasonable rate, 
 was conceded, and there will soon be a lighthouse 
 on both points. 
 
 The most noted wrecks hereabouts have been as 
 follows: i. The clipper-ship Carrier Pigeon, of eleven 
 hundred tons, from Boston, wrecked at Pigeon Point 
 in the winter of 1853—4, the vessel and cargo being 
 a total loss, although the crew escaped. 2. The ship 
 Sir John Franklin, from Baltimore, with the cargo 
 of the Pennell, condemned at Rio de Janeiro ; lost 
 at Point Ano Nuevo, six years ago ; captain, first 
 mate, and eleven of the crew drowned. 3. The 
 
THE WRECKS AND THE WRECKED. 
 
 49 
 
 British iron bark Coya, from Newcastle, with coal 
 and passengers ; wrecked between the two points, 
 four years ago. No danger was suspected in this 
 case, until in the early part of the night the vessel, 
 supposed to be forty miles off shore, was discovered 
 to be among the breakers. Before she could be put 
 about she struck the reef, rolled over into the deep 
 water beyond, and went down in an instant, carry- 
 ing with her twenty-seven people, including three 
 women. Two men and a boy, half naked, benumbed 
 and exhausted, were cast upon the rocks, and 
 reached a ranch, the only survivors of the thirty 
 souls on board. 4. The ship Hellespont (British), 
 from Newcastle, eleven hundred tons of coal, lost near 
 Pigeon Point one night in the winter of 1869-70. 
 Seven men perished, but a portion of the crew, 
 naked, bleeding, bruised, and more dead than alive, 
 succeeded in reaching the fishermen's station. 
 
 On the sandy bluff at Point Ano Nuevo is an in- 
 closure within which lie buried, side by side, forty of 
 the victims of these terrible disasters. Others were 
 removed by their friends, and one, the mate of the 
 Hellespont, sleeps, undisturbed by the merry prattle 
 of the children or the wild screams of the sea-gulls, 
 besi'.Ie one of the whalers' houses at Pigeon Point. 
 
 " Vou see that grave right behind that house?" 
 said my companion. "That is where we buried the 
 mate of the Hellespont. She went ashore in the 
 night within a mile of the Point, and, owing to the 
 roar of the breakers, the whalemen knew nothing 
 about it. One of the sailors, bleeding from many 
 wounds, more dead than alive, and wholly naked, 
 
5o 
 
 LY THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 every rag having been torn from him in his buffet- 
 ing with the waves, managed to crawl up the bluff, 
 and, groping in the darkness, stumbled upon the trail 
 leading to the Point. Just as the day was breaking, 
 he had crept within sight of the cottages. One of 
 the whalemen coming out met the poor fellow at the 
 door, and raising the cry, 'A ghost! a ghost !' ran 
 back with such speed as his trembling limbs would 
 give him. The supposed ghost, seeing a chance 
 for life, and being too cold to speak, staggered after 
 him. In his terror the Portuguese stumbled and 
 fell headlong upon the floor, and the shipwrecked 
 mariner stumbled also and fell upon him. The 
 other Gees, hearing the outcry, ran to the spot 
 and fell over the prostrate couple, and the horrible 
 and grotesque were strangely mixed. At last the 
 ghost related his story, and the frightened fishermen 
 started down in search of the other survivors, two 
 or three of whom were met crawling along the 
 road. The bodies of others were lying on the 
 beach, or tossed to and fro by the breakers, while 
 the fragments of the wreck strewed the shore for 
 miles. There is a telegraph station on the Point, 
 communicating with the Merchants' Exchange in 
 San Francisco and with the station at Pescadcro. 
 and the news of the disaster was soon known a-ong 
 the coast. We placed the body of the mate i -.to a 
 coffin, and asked the Portuguese to help us to bring 
 it to the Point for burial, but the superstitious fellows 
 would not touch the corpse for love or money. I 
 coaxed, and pleaded, and appealed to their humanity, 
 but all in vain. Then I swore that I would eet even 
 
A SHIPWRECKED GHOST. *i 
 
 on them. We went up there and commenced dig- 
 ging - a grave. When they saw what we were doing, 
 they began to comprehend the situation, and so far 
 conquered their prejudices as to offer to help us 
 carry the corpse up the hill. ' Not much, darlings 
 of my heart; I have changed my mind!' I said; and 
 I had. I meant to give them a lesson which would 
 last them a lifetime, or make them move their quar- 
 ters. So three of us lugged it to this spot, and 
 buried it beside the cottage, and his ghost has an- 
 noyed them every stormy night since, and will pro- 
 bably worry them as long as they stay here." 
 
 Thus chatting, we rode on down the coast, and 
 when abreast of Point Alio Nuevo, drove up to the 
 door of the hospitable proprietor of Steele's Dairy. 
 
CHAPTER TTI. 
 
 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 Steele's Ranch. — The Model Dairy of California. — Captain Graham.— A 
 Semi Tropical Garden.— Frightful Contest with a Grizzly. — Bear and for- 
 Bear. — The True King of Beasts. — The Model of Conservatism. — How 
 the Hunters lay for Bruin. — A Foolhardy Feat. — An Adventure on the 
 San Joaquin. — A Bear on a Spree. — Don't stand on Ceremony with a Beat. 
 — How a California Bear entertained a Mexican Bull. — How Jwtive Cali- 
 fcrnians I.asso the Bear. — How a Yankee did it. — The Bear ahead. — Peb- 
 ble Beach of Pescadero. — Cona. — The oldest Inhabitant. — Don Felipe 
 Armas. — Don Salvador Mosquito. — The Man who was a Soldier.- A Hun- 
 dred Years ago. — Catching Salmon Trout. — Shooting Sca-Lioiw -WUd 
 Scene on the Sea-Shore. 
 
 Steele's is one of the largest dairy ranches on 
 the Pacific coast. It is owned and run by the 
 brothers Steele, formerly of Delaware County, New 
 York. General Steele, who served in the Union 
 army during the war, and the deputy-sheriff of 
 Delaware County, who was murdered by the " Anti- 
 Renters," some years ago, were brothers of the 
 proprietors. There are two fine two-story frame 
 houses on the ranch, a fourth of a mile apart, 
 which, unlike the majority of houses on this part of 
 the coast, are elegantly finished, surrounded with 
 shade-trees and gardens, and provided with all the 
 comforts of life. We found one of the Steeles at 
 home. He told us that in the earlier part of the 
 (5-) 
 
STEELE'S RANCH. 
 
 53 
 
 r fid. ; on they milked between six and seven hundred 
 .\v's: but as the feed grows shorter with the ad- 
 Vo.nc<~- of the dry season, the number gradually 
 ovindJes down twenty-five to fifty per cent. As 
 fast as the cows dry up they are sent to the moun- 
 tains and allowed to remain until the rains commence, 
 in November and December. The Steeles came 
 here about nine years ago, and rented this ranch 
 cf seventeen thousand acres for six thousand dollars 
 per annum, with the privilege of purchasing all 
 south, of the Gazos Creek for six dollars per acre. 
 The ranch was granted under the Mexican Republic 
 to old Captain Graham, a Cherokee Indian half- 
 breed, formerly a Rocky Mountain trapper. He had 
 no business tact, and old age and aouardiente com- 
 bined had completely unfitted him for carrying on 
 this estate, and the still larger and more valuable 
 one known as Seyante, near Santa Cruz. Mortgages 
 and lawsuits eat it all up, and it passed out of his 
 hands for the beggarly sum of twenty thousand 
 dollars. It was considered one of the most barren 
 and unattractive localities on the coast, but the 
 S:eeles saw its capabilities, and settled upon it. 
 They soon purchased seven thousand acres of the 
 land in the vicinity of their present homes, and went 
 iaio the dairy business on a large scale. Others 
 imitated their success on a smaller scale, and there 
 are now over fifteen hundred cows on the ranch. 
 These are fed only on the native "wild oats," which 
 in place of grass cover all the open country of Cali- 
 fornia, but with proper effort vegetables could be 
 raised, to double the milk-producing capacity of the 
 
54 
 
 IN THE MISTS OF THE P. 1 CIFIC. 
 
 ranch. Alfalfa might flourish in some localities and 
 thus largely increase the feed; but the long dry sea- 
 son, extending from the first of May to November or 
 December, is too much for the tame grasses of the 
 Atlantic States, and no improvement in that direc- 
 tion appears practicable. The native wild oats, 
 however, furnish both crreen feed and nourishing 
 :">ay naturally, no cutting or housing being required. 
 As the ground grows dry under the heat of the 
 summer sun, the oats dry up and become of a 
 bright golden color. All the nutritious properties 
 are perfectly preserved, and so long as no rain falls 
 upon this standing hay, it is eaten with avidity by 
 the cattle and keeps them sleek and fat. When the 
 first rain comes, the oats break down and fall upon 
 the earth, and in a few weeks totally disappear, 
 leaving nothing whatever for the cattle to feed upon 
 until the seed, which during the summer has been 
 sowing itself in the cracks and crevices of the earth 
 rorrned by the drying up of the soil, and been 
 (rampled in and covered up by the hoofs of the 
 animals, starts into new life and in a few days clothes 
 ail the hills in vivid green again. 
 
 Six years ago the Steeles made, from one day's 
 milk of their own cows, a cheese of the richest de- 
 scription, weighing within a fraction of four thou- 
 s?.nd pounds (two tons), which they presented to 
 the Sanitary Commission. It was exhibited in San 
 Francisco until it had produced several thousands 
 :-f dollars, and then cut up and sold at one dollar 
 ir gold per pound for the benefit of the cause. A 
 cousin of the family, who lives with them, enjoys the 
 
A SEMI-TROPICAL GARDEN. re 
 
 rare distinction of being the only man in California 
 elected, in i860., to the Legislature fairly and 
 squarely on the Fifteenth Amendment issue. They 
 rind their business so profitable that they have 
 bought another ranch of only forty-five thousand 
 acres in San Luis Obispo County, which they were, 
 then stocking. They intend to carry on both dairies, 
 but the business of each will be kept separate, and 
 the style of the firms will be " Steele Brothers or" 
 San Mateo," and " Steele Brothers of San Luis 
 Obispo." For the prices realized for their butter 
 and cheese — they are too far from the city to sell 
 their milk — see the market quotations in the San 
 Francisco dailies. Yet California imports immense 
 quantities of butter and cheese annually, while there 
 are still millions of acres of cheap, unoccupied 
 grazing lands scattered all through the State, from 
 San Diego to Del Norte, and from the coast to the 
 far recesses of the Sierra Nevada. 
 
 Mr. Steele asked us to walk back into the garden, 
 and see what could be done in six years in the way 
 of fruit-raising on land which had, until quite recently, 
 been supposed fit only to raise jackass-rabbits and 
 long-horned, worthless, and savage Spanish cattle. 
 A little " arroyo" comes down from the canon in the 
 mountains near the house, and makes a bend around 
 the ground selected for the garden. Along the bank 
 of this "arroyo" willows and other trees were planted 
 to aid the large, scattered live-oaks which stood 
 there in breaking the winds. Thus sheltered, the 
 apple, pear, fig, plum, apricot, peach, soft-shelled 
 almond, and other trees, grew up like weeds, and 
 
q 5 ^ v THE AflSTS OP THE PACIFIC. 
 
 soon were loaded with luscious fruit. From one 
 apple-tree, the second year after it was planted out, 
 Mr. Steele picked two bushels of the finest apples. 
 The pear-trees I found had every branch propped 
 up separately, and on some the fruit would weigh at 
 least four times as much as the entire tree, roots, 
 trunk, branches, and leaves. The figs were covered 
 with the second crop of the season, nearly ripe, and 
 the plums were like great yellow balls of sugar and 
 butter. All the fruit is perfect ; even the grapes, 
 which flourish best in the hot, sunny valleys, being 
 large and delicious. Every variety of vegetable, 
 seemed to flourish ; golden squashes and pumpkins 
 covered the ground, and luscious melons lay ripening 
 in the sun. Among the curiosities we noticed a bed 
 of peanuts. These pets of the Bowery patrons 
 grow luxuriantly in California, being largely culti- 
 vated by the Chinese in Sacramento Valley, and are 
 larger and better than any imported ; the tops look 
 something; like alfalfa. All this without irrigation or 
 other cultivation than spading and hoeing, in the 
 most inhospitable climate found in California below 
 the snow-belt of the Sierra Nevada. 
 
 The grizzly bear still prowls in the redwoods, and 
 occasionally comes down to levy tribute on the 
 rancheros. My friend showed me where two huge 
 grizzlies were seen lying in an arroyo sunning them- 
 selves only a few days before. The party who saw 
 them had lost no cattle of that description, and he, 
 in the expressive language of California, " got up 
 and dusted" in the opposite direction as fast as his 
 horse could carry him. And well he might. Mr 
 
CONTEST WITH A GRIZZLY. -y 
 
 Steele pointed out where a fearful scene was enacted 
 just above his garden in 1867. An old she-bear 
 came down with her two cubs in the day-time and 
 seized a hog. Two men employed on the ranch, 
 both Portuguese, started to rescue the hog. One 
 had a gun, the other only a garden mattock. They 
 found her by the fence eating the hog, and yelled 
 at her to drive her away. She accepted the chal- 
 lenge, and with a growl dashed over the fence and 
 after them. The man with the gun pointed it full- 
 cocked at her head, but, as he afterward admitted, 
 when he felt her hot breath in his face, became de- 
 moralized, dropped the weapon and jumped over 
 the fence. His companion followed his example, 
 and they jumped back and forth for some minutes 
 with the enraged brute, in close pursuit. At length 
 the man who had the mattock started to run across 
 the field toward the house ; but the bear caught him, 
 threw him down, bit him through the thigh, and then 
 started after the other assailant. Had the wounded 
 man feigned death he would have been saved ; but 
 not understanding grizzly fighting, he jumped up and 
 began shouting for help. At this she turned upon 
 him more infuriated than ever, and, seizing him by 
 the side, literally tore him in pieces, killing him in- 
 stantly. The other man escaped. The next morn- 
 ing the bear, bear-like, returned to finish the hog, 
 and was shot by a party lying in wait for her. 
 
 Three or four years ago a San Franciscan stay- 
 ing at the Forest Home, on the mountains between 
 Santa Cruz and San Jose, a few miles east of this 
 place, was one day digging up a honeysuckle bush 
 
58 
 
 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 near the house, when he saw something stir in the 
 bushes and gave it a poke with the hoe. A moment 
 later the ladies saw him vault over the fence into 
 the door-yard, with a grizzly at his heels. He man- 
 aged to escape, but left a portion of his pantaloons 
 behind as a keepsake. That night the family slept 
 n the second story of the house with the windows 
 fastened down. 
 
 Almost every schoolboy in America is familiar 
 with stories of the savage ferocity and immense 
 strength of the grizzly bear of California. As a rule, 
 as I think I may have intimated elsewhere, hunters 
 stories may safely be taken with some grains of 
 allowance. The lion has generally been represented 
 as the " King of Beasts," and numberless are the 
 stories of his courage, strength, and ferocity. The 
 truth is, the lion is nothing but a great overgrown 
 cat, and his courage is just that of the cat on a large 
 scale, and nothing more. A cat will fight when cor 
 nered, from sheer excess of cowardice, but she 
 always prefers running. Find the weight of a cat 
 and that of a lion, and just so many times as the 
 lion is heavier than the cat, just so much more fight 
 and courage of the same character exactly you will 
 find in him. But the stories of the dangerous char- 
 acter of the grizzly, unlike those relating to the lion, 
 are 7iot and cannot be exaggerated. I know from 
 observation that the oldest hunters are the most 
 afraid of a contest with the grizzly, and take the 
 greatest pains to avoid one. It is always the 
 young, inexperienced hunter who sallies out half 
 armed and alone to fight a grizzly ; and one dose 
 
THE 'TRUE KING OF BEASTS. 
 
 59 
 
 is generally found quite enough to cure him of such 
 folly. 
 
 Tho plain truth is, that the grizzly is much better 
 entitled to the title of King of Beasts than the lion. 
 He fears neither man nor beast, and, instead of 
 wa'ting to be attacked, will, if hungry or in an)- way 
 oui; of humor, invariably become the attacking party 
 whatever the odds against him. A lucky shot pen- 
 etrating the heart, breaking the vertebra, or enter- 
 ing the brain, will sometimes cause almost instant 
 death ; but in ninety- nine cases out of a hundred 
 the first shot only enrages and infuriates him, and 
 renders him the most dangerous animal on earth to 
 fall into the clutches of. 
 
 The bear, like the hog, is " set in his ways," ob- 
 jfnate, and inclined to adhere, with unflinching per- 
 tinacity, to established customs and habits. He 
 never goes back on the traditions of his race. He is 
 the true natural conservative, believes to the utmost 
 in the wisdom of his ancestors, and hates innovation. 
 He forgets nothing, and learns nothing from expe- 
 rience. You can always count on his doing a cer- 
 tain thing in a certain contingency ; as they say out 
 wcsl, ! he averages well." He invariably buries his 
 pre)- where he kills it, and returns at night to feed 
 upon it. The knowledge of this fact has before now 
 saved many a hunter's life. The man who has the 
 courage and nerve to lie still as if dead, and never 
 crino-e when he is lifted by the bear's teeth, stands a 
 char.ce of being buried under a pile of loose leaves 
 and ribbish, and left for hours or until night; but 
 woe to him if he moves so much a finger before 
 
00 JN THE MISTS OF THE PAC1F1L. 
 
 he knows that the bear is out of sight ; his fate is 
 then certain. Rancheros who are annoyed by the 
 killing of their stock by grizzlies take advantage of 
 this habit of the bear, and, on discovering where one 
 has buried a steer, hog, or sheep, construct a plat- 
 form high up on a large tree, if one is convenient, 
 or dig a pit if 'no tree is near, and on the platform 
 or in the pit await the bear's return at night, pre- 
 pared to give him a volley from the largest and most 
 formidable guns obtainable. I have often seen these 
 platforms in the Sierra Nevada and Coast Range, 
 and listened to the stories of the hunters who "went 
 for" the grizzlies there. 
 
 On the 14th of March, 187 1, George W. Teei, '-1 
 youth of seventeen years, employed as a stock- 
 herder on the foothills of the Mount St. Helen? 
 range, only five miles from Calistoga, discovered the 
 track of a grizzly near his camp, and, boy-like, deter- 
 mined to lay for him. Six hundred yards from 
 camp he dug a hole in the ground deep enough to 
 wholly hide him, then hung a piece of venison on a 
 tree near by, loaded his double-barreled gun with 
 all the powder he dared place in it, and two-ounce 
 slugs, and commenced his nightly vigil. About r.wo 
 o'clock in the morning - he heard the snorting ~i a 
 grizzly, and on looking up, he beheld, about eight, 
 feet off, two glaring eyes in the head of a large-sized 
 bear. It was quite dark and foggy. The young 
 man leveled his gun, took aim, and as he saw th3 
 bear raise his head, he fired, and the ball ent .red 
 the animal's neck, breaking it, the slug ranging 
 along- the back and lodging- under the skin. Th^ 
 
HUNTING FOR EXPERIENCE. 6l 
 
 bear was so close that the powder singed the hair 
 on its breast. The grizzly had grasped in its teeth 
 an oak bush, and in one leap fell dead at the feet of 
 its captor. 
 
 Young Teel, having been successful, retired to his 
 camp contented. At daybreak he left his couch and 
 went to the place where he had killed the animal, 
 and to his surprise found he had killed a grizzly of 
 the size of an ox, weighing fully eight hundred 
 pounds. He was in luck. 
 
 About the same time an experienced hunter in 
 Southern California met with a terrible adventure, 
 with more serious results. The affair is related 
 by the Los Angeles Star, of February 19th, 1871: 
 "John Searles, well known in this section of the State 
 as an expert miner, left Soledad Canon a few days 
 ago, with a couple of friends, on a hunting expedi- 
 tion into the mountains north and east of La Liebre 
 Rancho, which abound in deer and bear. Wednes- 
 day evening, the party encamped at the foot of a 
 large canon, and, leaving his friends, Mr. Searles 
 took his rifle, a Spencer, and went up the cailon 
 hunting ; about a mile from camp, he killed and 
 dressed a grizzly. Judging from the fresh sign that 
 bear was plenty, he went on up the canon, looking 
 for a good place for a hunting camp. Half a mile 
 from where he left his horse, in very thick brush, he 
 came suddenly upon a large grizzly, breaking down 
 the chemisal, in a thicket. After waiting in the trail 
 a few minutes, with his gun ready, the bear emerged 
 from the bush and made a rush at him. A ball from 
 the Spencer knocked it down; but, almost immedi- 
 
£, IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 ately rising, the bear — one of the largest kind — ■ 
 closed with him. The Spencer missing fire three 
 times, a terrible hand-to-hand combat ensued, the 
 man fighting for life with his fists, and the bear fight- 
 ing for death with teeth and claws. The unequal 
 conflict was not prolonged. The bear, weakened 
 by loss of blood which poured from the rifle-ball 
 wound, left the man for dead, and crawling into the 
 brush, bled to death. After the bear left, Mr. Searles, 
 who had feigned death, arose and examined his 
 wounds. A bite from the bear had broken his lower 
 jaw in several places, one of his arms were broken, 
 and terrible wounds in the breast and side were 
 bleeding- fast. In this condition he crawled to his 
 horse, mounted and rode to camp. He was brought 
 to this city last night, by his friends, and best sur- 
 gical aid summoned to his assistance, although it is 
 feared that his injuries are fatal." 
 
 "If you play with the bear, you must take bear's 
 play," is a common saying, but its full force and 
 significance can only be appreciated by one who has 
 had a tussle with a California grizzly. 
 
 The Stockton Republican of March 14th, 1871 — 
 the very day on which both the last related affairs 
 occurred — gave the following account of a grizzly 
 fight which occurred in the Valley of the San Joa- 
 quin a few days previously: "W. D. Fowler and 
 George Day were out hunting in the hills near Oris- 
 temba Creek, on the west side of San Joaquin River, 
 in Stanislaus county, and came upon a large female 
 grizzly bear, which they commenced firing at. The 
 bear retreated slowly, and finally went to her lair 
 
ADVENTURE ON THE SAN JOAQUIN. 5^ 
 
 in some underbrush. The men kept up a steady 
 fire at her at long- range, the bear fighting - desper- 
 ately, tearing the brush and breaking limbs, but re- 
 fusing to leave her position. After awhile, they 
 noticed her carry off, one at a time, two small cubs 
 and hide them in the bush. Finding their range too 
 long to be effective, the hunters undertook to reach 
 a position nearer the bear by going around a hill, 
 and just when they were ascending the knoll to get 
 a sight of her, she suddenly came over the brow 
 and dashed at them in the most ferocious manner 
 When discovered, she was so near them that escape 
 was impossible, and the men stood their ground. 
 On she came, tearing up the bushes and biting the 
 shrubs. When within ten feet of Fowler he fired, 
 and the shot broke her neck. She fell, and a shot 
 from Day's rifle passed through her heart. It was 
 a narrow escape. The hunters captured the two 
 cubs the mother had hid in the brush, and another, 
 which still remained in the nest. The two cubs 
 hidden in the brush were colored precisely alike, 
 while the one remaining in the nest was somewhat 
 darker, from which the hunters concluded that rhe 
 old bear they killed had only secreted her own 
 young, and that the one remaining in the nest be- 
 longed to another bear and another family." 
 
 In the spring of 1869, a grizzly of the largest size 
 "ranched" in the San Andreas Valley, near the new 
 reservoir of the Spring Valley Water Company, — 
 from which San Francisco is supplied, — within fifteen 
 miles of the Golden City, for several weeks. No 
 body about there had lost any bears, and nobod) 
 
6 4 
 
 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 went after him, so he fattened on the luxuriant 
 clover and wild oats until the range began to give 
 out, and then leisurely departed for the mountains 
 No one asked him to come, and nobody cared to 
 delay his departure. 
 
 The grizzly is susceptible of domestication, but his 
 moods are varied even then. A few years ago, 
 while a museum was being moved from one part of 
 San Francisco to another, old Samson — who chawed 
 up " Grizzly Adams" once upon a time and rendered 
 him beautiful for life — got out of his cage and took 
 possession of the lower part of the city. A crowd 
 of excited men and boys were soon at his heels, 
 endeavoring to corral him, but for a long time with- 
 out success. At length, tired of picking up damaged 
 fruit from the gutters, upsetting ash-barrels and swill- 
 barrels, and frightening all the women and children 
 on the street out of their seven senses, he took 
 refuge in a livery stable, where he was speedily sur- 
 rounded and cornered. A number of men formed 
 a hollow square around him with pitchforks, and an 
 Irishman with a rope formed into a noose crawled 
 up within reach of the beleaguered animal, and 
 would have lassoed him, but for the fact that he 
 was afraid to attempt it. " Why don't you slip it 
 over his nose so that he can't bite?" shouted a by- 
 stander to him. "Well, you see I would, but thin I 
 ain't acquainted with him jist!" was the hesitating 
 reply. " Oh, never mind being acquainted with him ; 
 don't stand on ceremony with a bear. Just take off 
 your hat and introduce yourself!" was the jeering 
 rejoinder ; and a roar of laughter from the entire 
 
THE HEAR AND THE BULL. 65 
 
 crowd testified to their keen appreciation of the 
 joke. In January, 1S70, I saw that same bear in 
 the Plaza de Toros, in the city of Vera Cruz, 
 Mexico, dig a hole large enough to hold an elephant, 
 take a bull which had been set to fight him in his 
 
 O 
 
 paws as if he were an infant, carry him to the pit, 
 hurl him into it head foremost, slap him on the side 
 with his tremendous paws until his breath was half 
 knocked out of his body, and then hold him down 
 with one paw while he deliberately buried him alive 
 by raking the earth down upon him with the other. 
 Samson had not a tooth to bite with at that time, 
 they having been in the course of years and many 
 fifrhts worn down to the gfums ; but his strength was 
 that of an elephant, and his claws, eight inches in 
 length, curved like a rainbow and sharp as a knife 
 would enable him to tear open anything made ol 
 flesh and blood as you or I would tear open a 
 banana. 
 
 I am satisfied that an average grizzly could at any 
 time whip the strongest African lion in a fair stand- 
 up fight, while a full-grown bull is no more to him 
 than a rat is to the largest house-cat. 
 
 The grizzly is becoming scarce in some parts of 
 the State, but he is still found in great numbers in 
 the Coast Range Mountains, from San Diego to Del 
 Norte. 
 
 The Mexican or native Californian vaqueros in 
 Santa Barbara and neighboring counties, riding out 
 three or four together on their fleet, well-trained 
 taballos, will without fear attack a grizzly, lasso him 
 from different directions, and not only conquer him, 
 
66 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 but actually so tie him up and entangle him as to 
 eventually tire him out, and bring him into the town 
 an unresisting prisoner. 
 
 But it is not every man who can do that little 
 trick. The natives relate with pardonable exulta- 
 tion the story of a Yankee who came to California 
 in early clays, and soon acquired the trick of throw- 
 ing the lasso with considerable dexterity. Hearino- 
 others talk of lassoing the grizzly, he started out full 
 of confidence, to show them that he could do what 
 any other man could do in that line. He soon raised 
 a bear, threw the lasso with unerring aim, and reined 
 back his trembling steed to give the brute an 
 astonisher; when the rieta — which is attached al- 
 ways to the pommel of the saddle — came up taut. 
 Judge of his astonishment, my little friends, when 
 that bear quietly assumed a sitting position, took 
 hold of the rieta, and commenced to draw it in, hand 
 over hand ! The hapless descendant of the Pilgrim 
 Fathers stuck to the horse and saddle until lie saw 
 the slack all drawn in, and the bear and horse com- 
 ing rapidly together, — with what result could not be 
 for a moment doubted, — then hastily descended and 
 hunted a tree, abandoning the horse to the under- 
 writers. He had learned only half of the trick. 
 Two skillful men, operating from opposite sides, can 
 master a bear and choke him between them ; but 
 with only one man, one horse, and one bear, it is 
 "bear and for bear" all the time. 
 
 Returning from the Steele Brothers' dairy at 
 Point Ano Nuevo, we passed the famed " Pebble 
 Beach of Pescadero," a great resort, especially for 
 
PEBBLE BEACH OF PESCADERO. 
 
 67 
 
 ladies and children, in the summer season. Two 
 ledges of sharp, jagged rocks jut out into the ocean 
 about two hundred and fifty yards apart. Between 
 them extends a sandstone bluff some thirty feet in 
 height, in front of which stretches the beach some 
 twenty to fifty feet in width at high or low tide. 
 The beach is composed wholly of pebbles, from the 
 size of a strain of wheat to that of a gfood-sized wal- 
 nut. They are of all colors — white, red, brown, 
 yellow, green, and variegated. Those of a beauti- 
 ful opaline hue are most plentiful, and all are highly 
 polished by attrition. Plain agates, moss-agates, 
 cornelians and greenstones abound ; and it is claimed 
 that the more precious stones, including diamonds 
 and rubies, are sometimes met with. The wife of 
 Francisco Garcia, a well-known saloon-keeper on 
 Montgomery Street, in San Francisco, has a genuine 
 diamond which she found here, but I am not certain 
 that it was placed there by purely natural agencies 
 Hundreds of tons of the pebbles are washed up by 
 every storm, and it is supposed that there is a layer 
 or stratum of soft rock or clay in which they are 
 imbedded, extending out into the sea from beneath 
 the sandstone. Every day, in summer, many ladies 
 and children go down to this beach pebble-hunting, 
 cyrrying their lunch-baskets with them. They lie 
 down at full length upon their faces on the drifts of 
 polished pebbles, and with a stick dig down into the 
 mass in search of special beauties. A quart of fine 
 ones is a good day's work, and a lady of unusually 
 fastidious taste will frequently work all day for a 
 cupfull. Collections of these pebbles may be seen 
 
6$ IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 in most of the better class ot" houses in San Fran- 
 cisco, and along- the coast, though they cannot be 
 considered as of any great value. I walked along 
 the beach, but did not see any diamonds, and filled 
 my pockets at random. Some of the moss-agate 
 and similar stones make really handsome jewelry 
 when cut and set in gold. Santa Cruz, lower down 
 the coast, has also a pebble beach, but it is not 
 equal to this at Pescadero. 
 
 At the beach I saw one of the characters of the 
 locality — Cona, an immense Newfoundland dog. 
 One day a little girl picking pebbles was caught by 
 a huge roller from the Pacific, and carried out into 
 the roaring surf. Cona dashed in, caught her by 
 the hair, and, after a stout struggle, brought her 
 ashore alive. Of course Cona became a hero at 
 once, and was duly lionized and spoiled. He en- 
 joyed his dignity for some time, but eventually, 
 finding himself neglected, he determined, by a bold 
 stroke, to regain his popularity. Starting off for the 
 beach, he saw a lady out swimming. He at once 
 rushed in, seized her by the hair, and, in spite of her 
 frantic resistance, landed her on the beach. He has 
 become a necessary nuisance, and now insists on 
 rescuing every man, woman, and child whom he 
 catches swimming. He was looking for somebody 
 to rescue when we came along there — but looked 
 in vain ; it was not a good day for rescuing, and he 
 was sad at heart and dejected of mien. 
 
 The age attained by the native Spanish- American 
 • —and usually part Indian — inhabitants of this coast 
 is trulv marvelous. I never knew but one of them 
 
THE OLDEST INHABITANT. fo 
 
 to die, and he might have lived to a green old age 
 had he not been knocked down and run over by a 
 runaway flour-mill truck team, on Pine street, in 
 San Francisco, in 1868. He was one hundred and 
 four years old when he was thus prematurely cut 
 off. It is an undoubted fact that Cimon Avilos, 
 now or recently living at Todos Santos Bay, Lower 
 California, was one of the military guard who pre- 
 sented arms when Padre Junipero Serra raised the 
 cross at the Mission San Diego, in July, in the year 
 of our Lord and Master 1 769. This old conquistador 
 had been a soldier in the Spanish army several 
 years before that event, so that his age to-day can 
 be hardly less than one hundred and twenty-five 
 years. I have half a notion to go down there some 
 day and get the jovial young fellow to come up to 
 San Francisco, and take a little pasear over the 
 Pacific Raiiroad. At Pescadero the claim to beinfr 
 ' the oldest inhabitant" is at issue between Don 
 Salvador Mosquito, a Mission Indian, and Sefior 
 Don Felipe Armas, a Californian of Spanish parent- 
 age. Armas remembers that when King Kameha- 
 meha I., of Hawaii, found that the cattle which had 
 orown up wild on his islands had become an un- 
 bearable nuisance, and sent over to this country 
 f- ; - vaqueros to kill them off — a historical fact — he, 
 Armas, was selected as one of the party. He was 
 then said to be thirty-five years of age, but so many 
 years have since elapsed that he " has lost the run 
 of them entirely." The number of his immediate 
 descendants is still increasing at the rate of one 
 yearly. Salvador Mosquito was baptized under an- 
 
70 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 ether name, but the stout-built Mission in which the 
 ceremony was performed has long since crumbled 
 into dust, and the vaqucros, who, under the direc- 
 tion of the Holy Fathers (also dead), went out to 
 ;;isso him and bring him in for the glory of God, 
 Lave for many a year been hunting ethereal cattle 
 on phantom steeds over the ranchos of the blessed. 
 I saw him the other day. He came down to the 
 grocery to get a bottle of whisky, to which he is very 
 partial when he cannot get milk, which is usually the 
 case. This antidiluvian joker is always as dry as a 
 Ssh. They trust him at the grocery until his bill 
 amounts to two or three dollars, and then demand the 
 coin. Lifting his hands, with the expression of a dying 
 saint, the old rascal ejaculates, " Yo muy pobrc ,sejior ! 
 Yo ten go naaa, nada, nada! seizor /" with solemn 
 earnestnesss and every appearance of perfect hon- 
 esty. But the clerk invariably goes for him in the 
 most business-like manner. Placing his elbow against 
 the venerable patriarch's windpipe, he pushes him 
 back against the wall, and, bringing the pressure up 
 to about the point of one hundred and sixty pounds to 
 the square inch, gradually cuts off his supply of breath 
 and consequent power of resistance ; then running 
 the other hand into his pocket produces a more or 
 less well- filled purse, from which he repays the es- 
 tablishment and squares the account. Then Don 
 Salvador denounces the act as a "damned Yankee 
 trick," goes out in front of the store, spits in the 
 dust, mixes up a little mud, in which he dips his fino-er, 
 and making crosses and other cabalistic signs upon 
 the door, and windows, and walls, calls down the 
 
D ON SALT 'AD OR MOSQ Ul 1 C. 
 
 vengeance of an offended Heaven on the accursed 
 tienda and everything therein. "May its walls fall 
 out, its roof cave in, its contents be ground to 
 oowder, and its site be given over, as a last crown- 
 ing curse, to the everlasting habitation and proprie- 
 torship of the worthy descendants of the chief robber, 
 son of a priest and a woman without virtue, who 
 now occupies it! " Then he goes home with a hear 1 -, 
 full of wrath and righteous bitterness. Next mor: - 
 me he returns to see the ruins, is duly astonished 
 at seeing the place stand unharmed, goes in avr) 
 commences a new account. Mosquito appears to 
 be a man of strong but transitory prejudices. Hi? 
 tribe many years ago dwindled down to some forty 
 or fifty, who, under the command of the chief, Porn- 
 ponio, made their headquarters in the redwooa 
 forest above Pescadero, near to the source of the 
 stream now bearing his name. From thence they 
 made periodical forays on the ranchos below ; but as 
 the good Fathers had caught and " converted " all 
 their female friends, they finally went down to the 
 old Mission Santa Clara or San Jose — I am not cer- 
 tain which — and, breaking into the corral one night, 
 carried off a "mahala" apiece from under the very 
 noses of their pious guardians. For this daring act 
 o( sacrilege they were pursued by the Spanish 
 soldiers to their mountain fastness and exterminated. 
 Mosquito not being big enough for slaughter was 
 not killed, but was caught and baptized. He is a 
 buc7i Christiana, especially when about half-full of 
 whisky. I have calculated the number of red pep- 
 pers he must have eaten since that time, and the 
 
j 2 IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 aggregate is something more bulky than Mount 
 Diablo, and it would take more figures to express 
 it than are required in the annual exhibit of our 
 national debt. 
 
 "Pescadero" is the Spanish for "fishery," and the 
 name is indicative. The creeks which come down 
 from the mountains all along this coast swarm with 
 the spotted trout of California, and afford fine sport 
 in the early part of the season. In places along 
 their banks, the honeysuckle bushes and other 
 shrubs and vines form a chapparal so dense that 
 yqy must wade for miles to whip the stream ; but 
 one hundred, two hundred, or even three hundred 
 trout are often basketed in a single day's fishing by 
 one individual. It does not rain here from April 
 until to*z last of November or December ; but as 
 the days become shorter, and the sun's rays less 
 powerful, the evaporation which caused the streams 
 to dwindle to mere strings of detached ponds de- 
 creases, and all over the State, especially in ths 
 Coast Range, the rivers commence to rise. Thomp- 
 son, a hospitable landlord, took me down to tlve 
 mouth of the Pescadero for a little sport. We sei«t 
 a Mexican after worms for bait. The Mexican sen: 
 a neqro, and we sent a Chinaman after the neor r -. 
 and got them all at last. The row down the creek 
 was short. We saw hundreds of mallards and teal, 
 which we could not shoot, because the law forbids it 
 — very properly — until the 15th of the month, and 
 large flocks of long-billed curlew and other birds, 
 such as crows, buzzards, gulls, etc., etc., which we did 
 not want to kill. There is a bar at the mouth of the 
 
SHOOTING SEA LIONS. „~ 
 
 i 3 
 
 creek, and we chained our boat to a high rock inside 
 it and walked down to the ocean. The shores were 
 lined with drift, trunks of great pine and redwood 
 trees, timbers of wrecked ships, etc., etc., and the 
 scenery was wildly romantic. We passed the fester- 
 ing carcasses of half a dozen great sea lions, which 
 had been killed by a fishing party with Henry rifles 
 some weeks before. The fish come into the creek 
 with the tide, and bite best before the ebb com- 
 mences. If the sea lions who cover the rocks just 
 outside, follow them into the creek, the fish all run 
 out — and there is no more sport that day. So the 
 fishermen shoot some of the sea-lions to make the 
 rest leave. Before we reached the mouth we saw 
 two wolves on the opposite shore, running around 
 by the edge of the breakers and playing like dogs. 
 One ran off when he saw us, and the other lifted up 
 his nose and voice, and treated us to the most vivid 
 illustration imaginable of 
 
 " The wolf's lone howl on Onalaska's shore," 
 
 and then followed his companion. As we rounded 
 the bluff we saw some rocks just off shore covered 
 with sea-lions. It was low tide, and we could run 
 out to within fifty yards of them. I had a large- 
 sized Smith & Wesson revolver, a capital weapon 
 for such use, and as they threw up their heads to 
 look at us, I sent a bullet into the side of a big- 
 spotted fellow who was lying high up and presented 
 a good mark. The ball struck him with a dull thud, 
 and as he rolled off into the waves the whole herd 
 went splashing after him. Half a dozen of them 
 
* IN THE MISTS OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 / v 
 
 swam down in a line to within twenty or thirty 
 yards of us, and looked at us with their great lus- 
 trous brown eves, whether in sorrow or in anger we 
 could not tell, until I hit one on his head, and as the 
 bullet glanced off, he disappeared with a grunt and 
 porppise-like plunge. Thompson took the pistol, 
 and as one rose again fired and hit him squarely in 
 the mouth. He shook his head from side to side, 
 as if bKnd with pain, and then went down, leaving 
 great dark spots in the water. They all started off 
 then southward, and I was not sorry. Inveterate 
 sportsman that I have been from my youth up, I 
 cannot get over the feeling- that the killing; of de- 
 fenseless creatures like these, and allowing their 
 bodies to rot on the beach, is something akin to 
 murder. 
 
 The rocks we stood on, and which are covered ai 
 high tide, were incrusted with mussels of immense 
 size. Some of them measure twelve inches in 
 length, and Thompson tells me that he has seen 
 them fifteen inches long. They are fat and luscious, 
 and a few epicures come down to the coast every 
 season to indulge in clam-bakes and mussel-roasts ; 
 but this species of shell-fish is so common, and con- 
 sequently cheap, that not one in ten of the people 
 of California ever eat them. In holes in the rocks, 
 filled with pure sea-water, we saw curious things 
 like great sunflowers with bright-green petals. 
 These we could not detach from the rocks, and at 
 one touch they would curl up into a slippery ball 
 with all the petals hidden inside. 
 
 We went back to our boat as the tide came boom- 
 
SPORT ON THE SEASHORE. -^ 
 
 ing ill, and prepared to fish for salmon -trout, as they 
 are ealled ; really they are yearling and two-year- 
 old salmon. They will bite at a worm, spoon, or 
 fly, but best at worms. I had hardly put in my hook 
 before a noble fellow made the line fairly hiss through 
 the water for a few minutes. Then we drew him, 
 panting and exhausted with his struggles, alongside 
 the rocks, and with a landing net got him into the 
 boat. He was twenty inches in length, and the 
 handsomest fish I ever caught. Eight- and ten- 
 pounders are common, and they are the most de- 
 licious fish for frying or broiling which ever swam 
 the sea. Great crabs came in also with the tide, 
 and we dipped several of them out with our net. 
 In two hours we corralled fourteen salmon-trout, 
 losing several more by hooks breaking, and then, 
 the slack-water coming on and the fish ceasing to 
 bite with avidity, hoisted sail and went swiftly glid 
 ing back up the stream to the hotel. It was, all in 
 all, the best morning's sport I have ever enjoyed in 
 my life, and I have shot and fished from the Red 
 River of the North to the Rio Grande, and from tne 
 Atlantic to the Pacific. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PESCADERO TO SANTA CRUZ. 
 
 Down the Coast toward Santa Cruz. — The Moss and Shell Beaches of Pes- 
 cadero. — A Disgusted Hunter.— A Grizzly Bear Procession. — A Mutual 
 Surprise and Double Stampede. — The Bear Fever. — The Buck Fever 
 and Prairie-Hen Fever. — How Jim Wheeler Killed the Buck. — How Old 
 S. killed Three at one Shot. A Spanish-American Gentleman of Scien- 
 tific Attainments and Undoubted Veracity. — View if the Bay of Monte- 
 rey and the Valley and Mountains of Santa Cruz. 
 
 Pescadero numbers among its attractions a "Moss 
 Beach," where the ladies who visit the place go to 
 gather the beautiful, delicate, many- hued sea- mosses 
 which are found in such abundance all alone the 
 Pacific Coast, but in highest perfection on the shores 
 of Central California. These mosses are torn loose 
 by the storms, and thrown ashore by the tides in. 
 great abundance in some localities, this " Moss 
 Beach" being one of them. The ladies gather them 
 at low tide, strip them from the glutinous, leather- 
 like substance to which they are found adhering, and 
 place them in salt water, to be kept fresh until they 
 are ready to dry them. The delicate sprays, with 
 fibers finer than any silk, are with infinite labo: 
 spread out with pliers, or other small instrument.-, 
 upon the open leaves of an old ledger or other 
 book of hard paper, and pressed carefully whil'* 
 
 (76) 
 
SHELL BEACH OF PESCADERO. 
 
 77 
 
 drying. When fully dried they are taken off the 
 paper carefully, and cleaned with a soft brush to 
 remove any mold or other blemishes, and are then 
 ready for use in the preparation of moss-baskets, 
 pictures, etc., etc. Nothing- can be more beautiful 
 than the work thus produced by ladies of taste, and 
 no special teaching or experience is required to en- 
 able them to do it well. These mosses, when dried 
 ready for use, readily command high prices at the 
 East and in California, the demand being always 
 large. There is also a "Shell Beach" in the vicinity 
 of Pescadero, where beautiful sea-shells are gathered. 
 The finest shell on the Pacific Coast is the great 
 abalone (pron. "ab-a-A^ne"), a mammoth univalve, 
 which is found most abundantly and most perfect 
 along the shores of the Bay of Monterey, and thence 
 southwards to San Diego. The inside of the shell 
 is rainbow- hued and very brilliant, and when the 
 rough outside has been ground and polished away 
 they make beautiful ornaments for the mantel and 
 cabinet. Belt-buckles and other jewelry, which 
 would be "perfectly lovely" if not so cheap and 
 common, are made from these shells. 
 
 From Pescadero to Santa Cruz is thirty-six miles, 
 by the road which winds along the coast past Point 
 Alio Nuevo and Pigeon Point to the Bay of Mon- 
 terey, and thence southeastward, through a rich and 
 highly-cultivated farming region, to the old Spanish 
 Mission on the hill, below and around which the 
 modern town, one of the most beautiful and thriv- 
 ing in California, has grown up within the past 
 
7 g PESCADERO TO SANTA CRUZ. 
 
 fifteen years. What a glorious gallop we — Chiri- 
 moya and I — had over the clean, hard, undulating 
 road on that autumn morning after I left Pescadero! 
 Californians will understand me and pardon my en- 
 thusiasm, possibly sympathize with me in it; but you 
 of the older and more staid and conventional East 
 cannot do so, and I pass the description, as you 
 would inevitably pass it if you came upon it in 
 print. Passing over a pine-clad spur of Santa Cruz 
 mountains, which here come close down to the coast, 
 we halted for a time to rest and look about. This 
 is a famous place for gathering the pine-cones, with 
 fragments of which ladies are wont to construct 
 elaborately wrought picture-frames and other "or- 
 namental" work, very ugly, and very effective as 
 dust-catchers, but excellent things for presents to 
 religiously inclined friends, who are thereby brought 
 to a realizing appreciation of the force of the scrip, 
 tural maxim, "It is more blessed to give than to re- 
 ceive." A hunter, who had followed a deer down 
 from the heights above, toward the coast, but lost 
 him, joined me as I reclined upon the warm, dry 
 ground upon the hill-side, enjoying the delicious 
 sense of quiet and absence of care and life's petty 
 annoyances which comes with solitude, mountain 
 air, and autumn sunshine, and we swapped stories 
 of forest and mountain life and adventure, in this 
 and other lands, for an hour or two. He told me 
 with infinite gusto, and a true frontiersman's rude 
 but hearty appreciation of the grotesquely humor- 
 ous, how a frirnd of his, who was, and is, a sort of 
 
GRIZZLY BEAR PROCESSION. 
 
 79 
 
 Mr. Toots in sportsmanship and woodcraft, came 
 down here once from San Francisco in pursuit of 
 game, and wandering out into the woods upon this 
 same hill, fell asleep one delicious summer afternoon 
 beneath a shady tree. When he awoke it was 
 almost sunset, and the coolness of evening was 
 coming on. He sat up, looked about aim, rubbed 
 his eyes, wondered like Rip Van Winkle how long 
 he had been lying there, and how long it would take 
 him to walk back, empty-handed as he was, to his 
 hotel. Just then a rustling and cracking noise. fr:>m 
 a clump of chaparral about a hundred yards away, 
 attracted his attention. Out walked a grizzly bear, 
 a monarch of his kind, yawned, ran his red tongue 
 lazily over the outside of his jaw, humped his back 
 as if to test the condition and pliability of his verte- 
 brae, then advanced directly toward the tree under 
 which the astonished but hardlv delighted San Fran 
 ciscan sat, evidently without having noticed him and 
 blissfully unconscious of his presence. His grizzly 
 majesty had hardly advanced twenty yards when a 
 female of the same species, and but a iittle less in 
 size, followed in his wake and went through almost 
 the same calisthenic exercises. The first bear's ap- 
 pearance made the man of " Frisco" gasp for breath, 
 the second sent the blood back to his neart in a tor- 
 rent, the force of which almost caused chat organ to 
 jump out of his breast. It never rains • a third bear 
 followed the second, licked his chops, humped Ills 
 back, gave a half growl, half whine ol satisfaction 
 and advanced in the same direction at a siow, sham- 
 bling pace. Every word he had ever spoicen in any 
 
g Q PESCADERO TO SANTA CRUZ. 
 
 near or remote sense disrespectful of bald-headed 
 men flashed through our hero's mind in an instant. 
 
 41 Now I lay me down to slee " the forward bear 
 
 was already within thirty yards of him, and before 
 the prayer could be half finished would be upon him. 
 Something more energetic and positive had to be 
 done immediately. Springing to his feet in frantic 
 despair, the San Franciscan hunter threw his arms 
 wildly aloft, and uttered one loud, long, terrihc, un- 
 earthly yell, such as an able-bodied Irish banshee 
 might have given on a particularly rough night, when 
 a particularly bad scion of a particularly noble house 
 was passing in his checks at the termination of a 
 particularly long and infamous life. The effect was 
 instantaneous and striking. The foremost bear, 
 startled out of his seven senses by the yell, sprang 
 about ten feet — more or less — into the air, knocked 
 his nearest companion off her pins as he came down, 
 rolled over her, gathered himself up, and bolted 
 "like forty cartloads of rock going down a chute" 
 straight for the chaparral again, his companions fol- 
 lowing close at his heels, and never turning to sec 
 what it was which had stampeded them. As they 
 went bouncing and crashing away into the under- 
 growth, our friend, utterly oblivious from the first 
 that he had a gun within reach of his arm, turned 
 and ran the other way with such speed as Jack- 
 son or the Deersla) er never achieved, reaching his 
 hotel, some miles from the spot, with his garments 
 soaked with perspiration, hair wildly disheveled, 
 and eyes almost bursting from their sockets, onl\ 
 to tell the marvelous story of his adventure to 
 
THE BEAR FEVER. gl 
 
 a party of practical hunters, who, with the true Cal- 
 ifornia instinct, scouted the entire statement as " too 
 thin," affirmed that there never was a bear seen within 
 ten miles of there, hinted that he had been fright- 
 ened by a drove of cattle, winding up with an inti- 
 mation that he had doubtless been drinking a little 
 too freely of late, and if he did not want to have an 
 attack of the "jim-jams" he had better switch off 
 right then and there, turn over a new leaf, and re- 
 form his vicious not to say criminal habits at once 
 and forever. Adding insult to injury was literally 
 boiled down in this case, and our hero of "the three 
 bars," as he was derisively termed, went to his bed 
 that night in a frame of mind easier to be imagined 
 than described. Next morning a small Spanish boy 
 — who had been posted in advance by the party — 
 rode out on a mustang to the scene of our hero's 
 misadventure, brought back his gun, which was 
 found lying on the ground just where he had left it, 
 and on being closely questioned as to the " sign " 
 he had seen, swore by all the saints in the calendar 
 that there was nothing 1 there save a few fresh hoir 
 tracks. This last straw broke the camel's back, and 
 our Nimrod packed his traps and started for San 
 Francisco by the morning stage, cursing in the 
 bitterness of his heart the whole human race, and 
 devoutly praying that the bears which the hunters 
 affected to disbelieve in the very existence of might 
 catch and devour them all. It is but just to add that 
 the bears were there, and the hunters knew it all the 
 time. They only wanted their little joke. Kvery- 
 thing had occurred just as he had stated it, and in 
 
 6 
 
32 PESCADERO TO SANTA CRUZ. 
 
 the frenzy of his terror he had done the wisest thing 
 imaginable, and taken in fact the only feasible and 
 proper course to get himself well out of a bad 
 scrape. 
 
 My hunter friend was just a little soured in spirit 
 by a misadventure of his own that morning. In 
 company with a young man from the city, who came 
 well recommended as a or od shot and energetic 
 hunter, he had started out at daybreak into the 
 mountains in search of deer. They were going up 
 a narrow trail along the bottom of a thick-wooded 
 canon, when a deer, startled by their footsteps, sprang 
 up within ten feet of them and darted away with 
 tremendous bounds through the bushes. The 
 young man, startled out of his seven senses by the 
 sudden appearance of the deer, had been seized 
 with the "buck fever," and discharging his rifle at 
 random without the slightest idea what he was about, 
 came within an ace of blowing his companion's head 
 off. For this he had received a blessing, and an 
 intimation that thenceforth their paths were sepa- 
 rated, and the more widely the better. 
 
 This "buck fever" is one of the most violent dis- 
 eases which ever attacked the human system. The 
 story of the Southern planter who placed his negro 
 servant in ambush, and then, ordering him to fire the 
 moment he got a fair sight at the deer, drove a fine 
 buck directly down the ravine past him, is familiar, I 
 presume, to most of my readers. As the buck 
 dashed past him the negro rose to his feet, when 
 the frightened animal made a tremendous bound, 
 clearing a clump of bushes and a fallen tree-top, 
 
HOW JIM WHEELER KILLED THE BUCK. 8 
 
 and was out of sight in an instant. " Why in thunder 
 didn't you fire, Sam, as I told you ?" " Fire, massa ? 
 Gully mighty, massa, I didn't tink 'twas any use ! 
 He jump so almighty high, I was done gone sure 
 he'd break his back falling, massa !" was the trem- 
 bling darkey's quick-witted reply. 
 
 I once knew a man out in Illinois named Wheeler. 
 He had been engaged in farming on Fox River fo 
 years and never fired a gun. But one winter whei 
 a light snow covered the ground, he heard the boys 
 talking so much about the fun they were having at 
 deer-hunting that his ambition became excited, and 
 he determined to borrow a gun and start out him- 
 self. He did so. That night he came back with a 
 magnificent buck, shot square in the middle of the 
 forehead. Wheeler said little about his achievement, 
 but crot the credit of beino- a crack shot, which he 
 enjoyed for years. But on an evil day he visited 
 the village of St. Charles, on the occasion of the 
 visit of a circus to the place, and getting unusually 
 full of ginger-pop and such mild stimulants, in an 
 unguarded moment let out the secret and blasted 
 that glorious reputation in an instant. He had seen 
 a doe drinking out of a creek at the foot of a bluff 
 some twenty feet in height, and in the wild excite- 
 ment of the moment got the rifle to his shoulder, 
 shut his eyes, set his teeth like a child in a fit, and 
 pulled trigger. To his utter astonishment he saw 
 the doe bound away untouched, and at the same 
 nstant a glorious buck pitched headlong from the 
 top of the bluff into the creek, shot dead as a door 
 nail by a bullet through the head. The buck had 
 
8 4 
 
 PESCADERO TO SANTA CRUZ. 
 
 been looking down on the doe, and Wheeler had 
 never seen him at all. That let him out as a deer- 
 huntist. 
 
 It is not absolutely necessary that the game in 
 sio-ht should be a buck or doe, to give a green 
 hunter the " buck fever." Prairie-chickens suddenly 
 starting up around a man for the first time will not 
 unfrequently produce a severe attack. I remember 
 with a tender regard my old hunting friend and 
 companion of other days, Len Huegunin, of Chicago, 
 one of the gamest sportsmen I have ever known. 
 He shot his left arm off grinning; for ducks in the 
 Calumet Marshes, but his right never forgot its 
 cunning, and years thereafter he was one of the 
 crack shots of the Garden City. One day Len was 
 persuaded against his better judgment to go out on 
 the prairie and initiate a green Bostonian in the 
 mysteries of prairie-chicken shooting. When the 
 dog took up the scent of the first covey, Len fol- 
 lowed upon one side of an Osage orange hedge and 
 his companion on the other. The chickens were 
 concealed in the grass on the Bostonian's side of 
 the hedge, and in an instant they were all off at once, 
 flying, bur-r-r-r-r-r-r, bur-r-r-r-r-r, bur-r-r-r-r-r-r, up 
 from around his feet and skurrying off right and 
 left in all directions. Without the remotest idea of 
 what he was doing or wanted to do. the startled 
 Bostonian fired both barrels into the air at random, 
 and with one of them bored a hole about the size of 
 a saw log through the hedge and perforated old 
 Len's coat, vest, and pants, to say nothing of his 
 hide, with about ten thousand — more or less — No. 7. 
 
CHICKEN-PIE AND BUCKSHOT. gr 
 
 Now Len was a man of few words but prompt action. 
 As quick as a Hash his gun was at his shoulder, and 
 bang, bang, it went in less time than I can write 
 it. The Bostonian jumped about three feet high as 
 each barrel was discharged, and yelled, as soon as 
 he could get breath, " Why, confound you ! what the 
 d — 1 are you doing ? You have peppered me all 
 over with shot, and hang me if I don't believe you 
 meant it ! If I had some buckshot here, blame me 
 if I wouldn't give you a dose, if that is your little 
 game !" Len's reply came quick from between 
 teeth set hard on a wire cartridge, the mate to which 
 he was jamming down into the gun, which he held 
 upright between his knees, having but one hand to 
 work with. "Well, d — n you, that is my game, and 
 if you are on it, the quicker you get about it the 
 better! I'm loading with buckshot cartridges a/- 
 ready /" The timely arrival of a mutual friend saved 
 the Bostonian from a dose of "BB"; but Len had 
 enough of that chicken-pie, and went home at once 
 full of wrath and small shot, the most disgusted man 
 on the continent of America. To this day — if Len 
 is still in the land of the living — you have but to 
 ask Len to go out with a green Bostonian on a 
 chicken-hunt, to get up a first-class fight on the 
 instant. Len was three weeks at work with his 
 fingers, a jack-knife, and a pair of tweezers digging- 
 out those shot, swearing a blue streak all the time, 
 and the Bostonian went home with his body so full 
 of lead that he never dared take a swimming bath 
 from that day forth. 
 
 It is a painful fact, but a fact nevertheless, that 
 
SO PESCADERO TO SANTA CRUZ. 
 
 hunters will lie, occasionally ; I have hunted some- 
 what myself, and I know it. Old S. used to 
 keep a hotel and drive stage on the San Mateo and 
 Pescadero road. He had hunted more or less all 
 his life. One day he was telling a party of tourists 
 about a big deer-hunt he had a few years before. 
 Warming up with his subject, he pointed out with 
 his whip a steep bluff on the hill-side above them, 
 and thus concluded his narration : " Well, you see, 
 gents, I had just got clown in that little canon there, 
 when I seen a deer standing right by that big red- 
 wood, and went for him. I didn't see but one deer 
 when I fired, but that deer just gin one leap and 
 come crashing down inter the bush thar as dead as 
 a door nail, and blast my pictur' ef three more didn't 
 come jumpin' over arter him, each one shot so dead 
 that he never kicked. That was jest the strongest 
 shootin' gun you ever seed in yer lives, gentlemen. 
 I never seed its ekal, and I've seen some in my time, I 
 kin tell yer! But the curiousest thing about it was, 
 that the fust deer I fired at was shot right through the 
 side of the head, jest above the eye, and through the 
 off hind foot, jest above the huff. Fact, gentlemen /" 
 "Through the hind hoof and head at the same shot! 
 — how the deuce could that be ?" exclaimed one pas- 
 senger. " Look here, S., don't you think that is 
 drawing it a little strong? — four deer at one shot, and 
 only saw one of them !" said another. " Well, as 
 fur the bullet going through the hind foot and head 
 at the same time, yer see he was jest scratchin' his 
 ear with the huff when I fired. That's easy enuff 
 counted fur ; but the hittin' of four on 'em one after 
 
LOGIC, AND ANATOMY. 87 
 
 another, Uiat always did puzzle me a leetle; howsum- 
 ever, I'll take my affadavy it's a fact, and what is 
 more, there's the hill right in front on yer, gentlemen, 
 and yer can see it fur yerselves ! There ain't no 
 
 'in over that, gentlemen ! " This logic silenced the 
 doubters, and S. remained master of the situation. 
 The similarity of the experience of S. and Wheeler 
 in some particulars may strike the hypercritical 
 reader : only another proof that history has a tend- 
 ency toward repeating itself in all ages and coun- 
 tries ; nothing more, upon my honor. 
 
 These and many similar anecdotes we exchanged, 
 my hunter friend and I, while Chirimoya amused 
 himself munching the dry grass which grew in 
 scattered tufts among the bushes, and from time 
 to time varied the entertainment a trifle by essaying 
 the feat of kicking a fly off the top of his rump with 
 his hind feet, — a thing which cannot be done suc- 
 cessfully. I have studied equine anatomy thor- 
 oughly, and have done my best, laboring long and 
 earnestly with a club, to convince that noble brute 
 that the thing is a physical impossibility; but it is 
 all of no use ; he will persist in trying it, I suppose, 
 and setting all my counsel and instruction at naught, 
 until he disjoints his back, turns himself inside out- 
 wards, or is promoted L o a position in the shafts of 
 a sand-cart, where he cannot lift his heels. The 
 perversity of men and Spanish horses is something 
 beyond my comprehension. 
 
 Speaking of hitting flies reminds me of a trifling 
 incident, occurring about the commencement of our 
 late civil war, on the Rio Grande. I saw an old, 
 
88 PESCADERO TO SAXTA CRUZ. 
 
 one-eyed Mexican vaqtiero hitting flies, one by one 
 with a long - rawhide whip, as they crawled up the 
 side of a wall, and took occasion to compliment him 
 on his dexterity. His broad sombrero was off in a 
 moment, and with many low bows and protestatory 
 shrugs and gestures he replied, in good Castilian, 
 substantially as follows : 
 
 "Yes, your Excellency, I have made it the study 
 of my life, and have achieved some small measure 
 of success in my efforts, as you do me the infinite 
 honor to remark. I can now hit a fly and knock him 
 off the side of a mule without disturbing the mule, or 
 I can hit the mule and knock him out from under the 
 fly without disturbing the fly. I am quite at your 
 Excellency's service; which will you do me the 
 honor to order me to do ?" 
 
 I ordered him to go and take a drink, and he 
 demonstrated the soundness of my judgment and 
 his title to my confidence by going and doing so 
 without further parley. To the credit of the Spanish 
 Americans I will say that my confidence has seldom 
 been abused by them, or proved to have been mis- 
 placed. I wish I could say as much for some of 
 my own countrymen ! 
 
 This part of the coast of San Mateo and Santa 
 Cruz is subject to periodical visitations of various 
 kinds of fish, some of which are almost unaccount- 
 able and very peculiar indeed. The baracotita, a 
 species of sea-pickerel greatly valued by the Italian 
 and French cooks for soup and chowder, sometimes 
 swarms in the waters close in shore, and is taken by 
 cartloads. At other times the shore is literally 
 
GA Till-: RING HORSE-MACKEREL. 89 
 
 covered with "horse-mackerel," and die whole popu- 
 lation turns out to enjoy the sport of gathering them 
 in. It has never been my good fortune to witness 
 one of these grand fish-battles, but I find one de- 
 scribed as follows in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. 
 
 "We reached the fishing-grounds about twilight, 
 — here the pen fails to do justice to the scene. It 
 was low tide ; the sea here forms a continuous, al- 
 most level beach, live or six miles long, and an 
 average width of one hundred and fifty yards at low 
 tide, with a hard, smooth bottom, and not a pebble 
 nor a sea-weed visible the whole distance ; probably 
 there is no nicer nor finer drive in the State for the 
 same distance: the ever - changeable bluff some 
 one hundred feet in height, all the estuaries filled in 
 with drift-wood, accumulating' for vears. Now im- 
 agine some four hundred people arriving between 
 twilight and dark, the fine carriages, the omni- 
 buses, two-horse teams, four-horse teams, six-horse 
 teams, ox teams, carts and California go-carts, all 
 filled with persons who have the highest expecta- 
 tion of making a big haul. The high piles of dry 
 drift-wood, set ablaze for the distance of five miles, 
 the moon shining with brightest rays on the silver 
 sand and phosphorescent water. Men, women, and 
 children taking their positions at equal distances, 
 awaiting the coming of the fish, which occurs when 
 the tide is on the point of coming in. The theory 
 of the fish coming ashore I imagine is something like 
 this : the bay, at present, is full of a small fish 
 similar to anchovies, the natural food of the mack- 
 erel, which, being a very voracious fish, follows the 
 
9 o 
 
 PFSCADERO TO SANTA CRUZ. 
 
 anchovy into the breakers, when, the incoming vide 
 being stronger than the fish is used to, it deposits 
 him through the breakers, often casting - great num- 
 bers of them high and dry, but most generally de- 
 positing them just through the breakers, into from 
 three to six inches of water, which causes them to 
 flounder and squirm to regain their element ; then 
 the real sport commences, men and boys roll up 
 their trowsers, ladies tie their dresses around their 
 waists, and also pitch in to secure the prizes ; when 
 the fish flounders he is both seen and heard, as he 
 makes a great commotion; the cry is given, 'There 
 he goes !' when all those in the immediate neigh- 
 borhood make for the hapless wight. Then look out 
 for collisions ; but here woman gets her rights ; she 
 has as good a right to the fish as her would-be 
 superior, especially if she catches fish herself. But 
 to cut a long story short, five of us caught over five 
 hundredweight, and got home by six o'clock in the 
 morning. Horse-mackerel is considered a very 
 game and edible dish." 
 
 The afternoon was far advanced when I bade 
 adieu to my hunter friend, took a parting drink from 
 his canteen, rode down the hill in'o the open country 
 bordering on the Bay of Monterey, and saw the 
 grand panorama of the Valley of Santa Cruz, and 
 the shores of the historic bay, with the deep, dark, 
 wooded mountains, with majestic old Loma Prieta 
 towering high above them all in the background, 
 unfold itself before me in beauty to which tongue or 
 pen can do no justice. 
 
CHAP T E R V. 
 
 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 The Bay of Santa Cruz and its Surroundings. — The Natural Bridge. — Mussel 
 Men, their Dangers and Delights. — Adventure with a Sea-Lion. — Un- 
 invited Guest at a Picnic. — An Embarcadero. — Sea-Bathing. — Big Trees 
 of Santa Cruz. — Caves. — Mountain Rides. — Supposed Ruins. — Up the 
 Valley of the San Lorenzo. — The Mountain Honeysuckle and Madrono. — 
 Over the Mountains Again. — The Redwood. — And what a Fall was there, 
 my Countrymen ! — How they Broke Jail. — Down the Valley of Los Gatos. 
 — Strange Rise and Fall of the .Streams of the Coast Range. — Out of the 
 Wilderness. — An Old Friend's Story. 
 
 From the bold rocky shore of the Bay of Mon- 
 terey to the westward of Santa Cruz, I looked upon 
 a scene of quiet beauty worthy the pencil of the 
 ablest painter, that warm sunn)- autumn afternoon. 
 The bay itself was calm and unruffled by breeze or 
 gale, but ever and anon a huge ground-swell roller 
 came stealing silently in, as if to catch somebody by 
 surprise, and, failing in that, burst with a long sullen 
 roar upon the jagged limestone cliffs which form a 
 barrier to the encroachments of the ocean on that 
 side. Beyond the broad bay, on the line of the 
 southern horizon, rose the gray-, and purple-, and 
 mauve-tinted mountains, which come down almost to 
 the water's edge, and at the foot of which stands the 
 old, historic, picturesque, and half-decayed Spanish 
 city of Monterey, tie ancient capital of Alta Call- 
 
 (c,i > 
 
02 
 
 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 fornia. Dana, Derby, Colton, and Herman Mel- 
 ville have invested die shores of this glorious bay, 
 and that famous old city, with a romantic charm such 
 as few localities on our continent can boast. South 
 eastward the red and black outlines of the Gabilan 
 Mountains cut against the rose-tinted horizon. 
 They look down upon the broad and fertile valley 
 of the Salinas, which debouches into the Bay of 
 Monterey on the eastward; and northward of the 
 last, due east or nearly so from where I stood, 
 lowers the great peak of Loma Prieta, wrapped to 
 its very summit in a dark green mantle of chemisal. 
 The Valley of Santa Cruz, dotted with white houses 
 embowered in green shady groves, with the trim 
 fresh-looking little city of the Holy Cross nestled 
 quietly in the centre, stretched away to the east- 
 ward from our point of observation, and formed the 
 immediate foreground of the picture. 
 
 I met a party of acquaintances coming out from 
 the city to visit the natural bridge of Santa Cruz, 
 some three miles from the town, and, turning off 
 with them from the main road, went down through 
 the fields and broad meadows a mile or so to the 
 shore of the bay. The gray limestone which here 
 underlies the soil at every point, and at no great 
 depth, crops out boldly at the shore, and the un- 
 ceasing assaults of the waves, lasting through cen- 
 turies on centuries, have worn it into a thousand 
 curious and fantastic forms. This limestone buttress 
 is at this point from fifty to one hundred feet in 
 height, and the natural bridge is out at its very edge, 
 overlooking the 1 ay and ocean. A deep gulley or 
 
THE NATURAL BRIDGE. 
 
 93 
 
 chasm in the mesa or table-land runs down under 
 the outer wall of this rock, without cutting through 
 it at the top ; and the waves, surging and whirling 
 incessantly in and out at the bottom, have arched 
 the opening beneath, and worn it into the exact 
 shape of a long span of some monster stone bridge 
 builded by ambitious human hands. On either side 
 of the main arch are two long narrow spout-holes or 
 flumes, running through the abutments or piers to the 
 sea, and through these the flood surges in and out 
 with a great swash and roar, with every rising and 
 falling wave. Brilliant-hued pebbles and fragments 
 of rainbow-colored abalone shells, worn smooth by 
 attrition, are washed back and forth by the deep 
 blue waters as the waves roll in and out, and beau- 
 tiful feathery mosses, from the great depths of the 
 sea, are left on the beach by every falling tide. The 
 upper end of the canon is sheltered completely from 
 the winds, and, being dry and warm, is a favorite 
 resort for picnickers and the lovers of roast mussels 
 and clams, who find fuel in abundance scattered 
 about, and can gather the bivalves by bushels or 
 even cartloads here all the year round. At some 
 seasons, for reasons not fully understood, the mon- 
 ster mussels of the California coast become poison- 
 ous to the last degree, and whole parties are poisoned, 
 sometimes with fatal results, from eating them, nearly 
 every year. They are of a beautiful yellow hue 
 when cooked, as rich as a banana fried in butter; 
 and I know old mussel-fanciers who have been 
 poisoned over an 1 over a ain, but return to the 
 charge year after year, preferring the chances of 
 
C,4 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 being- killed outright in the end to abandoning the 
 consumption of their favorite delicacy. 
 
 There is a low ragged rock just off shore, but a 
 little distance from the natural bridge, which is a 
 favorite resort for the sea-lions, and hundreds of the 
 unwieldy monsters may be seen disporting them- 
 selves there at almost any time. A few years since, 
 a party from San Francisco came down to the 
 natural bridge for a picnic, and while the men 
 were preparing the lunch at the upper end of the 
 canon, a lady of the party strolled down to the 
 beach under the main arch. The tide was low, and, 
 as she went down by the water's edge, she saw lying 
 alongside the abutment of the bridge, in the sun, a 
 monster dead sea-lion, or what seemed to be such. 
 The carcass did not emit any offensive smell, and 
 she concluded the animal had just been shot. Going 
 up to it without fear, she stood looking at it for some 
 minutes, and finally gave it a vigorous poke with 
 the end of her parasol. In an instant the party in 
 the canon above were alarmed by wild screams, and 
 the lady, half frantic with terror, came running up 
 toward them, with the infuriated monster struggling 
 after her and uttering hoarse roars of rage as he 
 vainly sought to keep up with her in her hurried 
 flight. He was not dead, but sleeping, and the poke 
 in the ribs which she had given him had awakened 
 him and infuriated him at the same time. The men 
 ran down to meet her, and, having luckily revolvers 
 at hand, despatched the brute with repeated shots. 
 I saw his body lying there, and measured it ; it was 
 fully twelve feet in length from tip to tip, and must 
 
AN EMBARCADERO. g- 
 
 havc weighed from twelve hundred to two thousand 
 pounds. The sea-lions, or lobos dc marina (wolf 
 of the sea), as the Spaniards term them, have the 
 slowest respiration of any known animal. They will 
 sleep at the bottom of the sea, for half to three- 
 quarters of an hour, then rouse themselves, come to 
 the surface to breathe, play around for a few minutes 
 perhaps, and then descend for another nap. When 
 asleep in the open air they lie as motionless as if 
 really dead, and do not rouse readily. They are 
 therefore readily approached at such times, and a 
 stranger to their habits, seeing no sign of life, would 
 be sure to be led into the error of our lady friend. 
 On being suddenly awakened they are likely to dash 
 indiscriminately at the first object in sight, and, 
 especially when their young are in danger, they will 
 make a somewhat determined attack. Though pro- 
 vided with teeth not unlike those of a dog, their 
 offensive capacities are not of a very high order, 
 and their attacks on human enemies are seldom if 
 ever attended with fatal, or, for the matter of that, 
 very serious results. 
 
 Leaving- the natural bridge, we rode over the 
 arch on horseback — carriages pass over it without 
 difficulty — and visited an embarcadero, half a mile or 
 less farther in towards Santa Cruz. This embarca- 
 dero is a mere cleft in the limestone bluff, the sides 
 of which are worn into a thousand fantastic forms 
 by the waves. The water inside is deep, but the 
 heavy ground-swell, rolling in at almost all times, 
 tosses the vessels, which come in here to load with 
 lime and lumber, about like so many footballs, and 
 
96 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 the danger of their being cracked like egg-shells by 
 being thumped against the projecting rocks is always 
 imminent. The vessels load from chutes running 
 down from the bluffs above, and get away with all 
 possible despatch. Thousands of gulls, shaugs, 
 murres, and other sea-birds swarm on the rocks in 
 these sheltered coves, and a pistol-shot will send 
 them screaming and whirling around in the air in 
 clouds in a moment. 
 
 From the embarcadero we rode back through the 
 fields to the highway again, and thence past numer- 
 ous tanneries and other manufacturing establish- 
 ments to the once fine old Mission on the hill-side 
 above the city, now half modernized by a shingle 
 roof, which has replaced the quaint old red earthen 
 tiles, and half in ruins, and from thence down into 
 the pretty, thriving town to our hotel, where a relish- 
 able dinner and welcome rest awaited us. Towns, 
 as I have ascertained by somewhat extended obser- 
 vation, are generally composed to a very great 
 extent of houses, and inhabited by people. Special 
 descriptions are not generally interesting to the 
 great mass of intelligent readers. Santa Cruz is 
 built on the general plan, and is therefore no ex- 
 ception to the rule. It looks neat, prosperous, 
 thrifty, clean, and not unlike any well-to-do manu- 
 facturing and farming centre in New England or the 
 Middle States, with California flowers, shade- and 
 fruit-trees thrown in ad lib. The ocean, rivers, 
 woods, mountains, were not made with hands, and I 
 like better to be among them and write of them. 
 We will sing the praises of Santa Cruz proper. 
 
SEA-BA THIXG. 
 
 97 
 
 I went down to the beach next morning, and 
 found it not unlike other sea-beaches. It is a mile 
 or two miles long, with a bold, rocky headland on 
 the westward, another marking the entrance of the 
 San Lorenzo, a famous mountain trout-stream, to 
 the Bay of Monterey. Near the mouth of the San 
 Lorenzo, and inside of the bar over which the tide 
 ebbs and flows, is the favorite resort of the bathers. 
 I don't like salt water in any form, — in fact, am not 
 partial to water of any kind ; it has done immense 
 injury to my family in days gone by, and came near 
 depriving the world, at an early day, of the- presence 
 and services of your humble servant himself. The 
 sea-bathing had no great attractions for me. I love 
 woman in the abstract, and admire the Greek Slave 
 and the Venus de Medici as works of art, but long 
 observation has led me irresistibly to the conclusion 
 that the daughters of my native land — to say nothing 
 of the mothers — will not, as a rule, appear to advan- 
 tage; in a costume approaching the severely classic 
 models alluded to. Mary Elizabeth Jane looks well 
 in a ball-room, and is nice company at a picnic or 
 on a moonlight ride ; but I have observed with pain 
 that M. E. J., clad in a red shirt, pair of Shanghai 
 trowscrs, and a flop hat, bobbing up and down in 
 the breakers, loses some of her attractions. I have 
 crazed with admiration on the red flamingo dancing - 
 on the edge of a quiet lagoon on the palm-fringed 
 shores of Yucatan, because he seemed in keeping 
 with, and a part of, the perfect picture. Even the 
 gentle blue fly-up-the-creek has claims to considera- 
 tion in his place ; but M. E. J., dresse 1 in the closest 
 
 7 
 
98 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 imitation of the flamingo and the ily-up-the-creek, 
 and running before the wind from the bathing-house 
 to the water, is not a success, — I say it with sincere 
 pain, — not even a qualified success, nothing like one, 
 in fact. Beloved of my heart, good-by ! May you 
 be happy sporting with the sea and the crabs and 
 the little fishes and the possible sharks and the 
 probable blood-suckers and the inevitable sand-flies, 
 in your flamingo and lly-up-the-creek costume ; but 
 as for me, give me solitude and the woods, or give 
 me death! 
 
 What glorious places for picnicking, and what 
 romantic roads and bridle-paths, abound in the 
 vicinity of Santa Cruz ! With youth and some 
 money and pleasant company, what a jolly life one 
 could lead here ! Ten miles to the northwest of the 
 town, up in the foot-hills, there is what was long sup- 
 posed to be the ruin of a mighty temple, like unto 
 those of Egypt or Elephanta. There are two rows 
 of columns forty feet apart, with four feet space be- 
 tween the columns, and looking very like the work 
 of human hands, — very like indeed. They are in- 
 deed the ruins of a temple, — the temple of Nature, 
 and the columns are simply those which 
 
 " The wizard Time 
 Hath raised to count his ages by." 
 
 There is a cave, three hundred feet in length, 
 some three miles from the town, and four miles far- 
 ther up in the hills a mammoth-tree grove, wonderful 
 to look upon by one who has not stood among the 
 giants of Calaveras and Mariposa. They are of the 
 
MOUNTAIN RIDES. 
 
 99 
 
 redwood species, as, indeed, are all die " Big Trees 
 of California." Is it not strange that such brittle 
 timber should stand erect amid the tempests and the 
 earthquakes, through all the weary ages of historic 
 time ? When Abraham fed his flocks on the plains 
 of Asia, the present giants of the redwood groves 
 of California were already giants ; and when the 
 Saviour of mankind bowed his head in death upon 
 the cross, and all nature shuddered while darkness 
 fell upon the earth, and the veil of the temple was 
 rent, they stood there almost as they stand to-day, 
 green in their old age, and seamed and scarred by 
 lightning and by fire, but hale and vigorous still. 
 
 In the cool hours of the evening, when the sun 
 was sinking in the western ocean, and long shadows 
 were creeping over the hill-sides, with a loved com- 
 panion I rode up the winding valley of the San 
 Lorenzo, some ten miles, to the California Powder- 
 Works. These woods are always beautiful, and the 
 ride, in summer as in winter, in the flush and bloom of 
 spring-time, or in the golden glory of autumn, along 
 the banks of the swift-running stream, under the low- 
 bending evergreen trees, and among- the flowering - 
 shrubs, always a delightful one. In the summer the 
 giant mountain honeysuckle — a vine which grows 
 into tree-like proportion, twelve, fifteen, or even 
 twenty feet in height — is one mass of creamy-white 
 and delicate pink-hued, trumpet-shaped blossoms, 
 whose rich delicate odor fills all the air. The buckeye, 
 blooming on every hill-side, gives off its dense sensu- 
 ous odors in almost overpowering volume, and the 
 wild rose, the snowdrop, and a thousand nameless 
 
IOO SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 Mowers, mingle their perfume with that of the peer- 
 less madrono, which here is indeed "a thing- of 
 beauty and a joy forever." 
 
 The powder-mills are located in a secluded glen 
 among the hills, and a neat, thrifty little hamlet has 
 grown up around them. " No admittance" is posted 
 on every door of the thirty or more broad-eaved, 
 yellow-painted, Swiss-farmhouse-styled buildings of 
 the Powder Company. Accidents will happen here 
 as elsewhere ; and when one does happen the people 
 loitering in the vicinity at the moment are rendered, 
 as a general thing, forever unpresentable in fashion- 
 able society. This thought reconciles us to the pro- 
 hibition, and we ride away. 
 
 A few years since, the "oil fever" broke out with 
 violence all over California. In Santa Barbara and 
 Los Angeles Counties, where the fields of asphaltum 
 or " brea" cover wide districts, and at the surface a 
 refractory kind of oil exudes and runs off in small 
 quantities in many localities, wells were bored 
 Heaven knows how deep, through almost every 
 conceivable substance, — natural putty, cement, corn 
 dodger, cobble-stones, old cheese, chalk, ice cream, 
 molasses, soft soap, hard soap, and soapstone, — but 
 never a smell of oil came to the surface, though a 
 vein of burning-gas, sufficient in volume to light the 
 city of Los Angeles had it been saved and utilized, 
 was cut into. Here in quiet Santa Cruz they bored 
 everything, from a lime-rock to a sand-bank, in 
 search of oil, and never struck it, despite the predic- 
 tions of professional geologists, oil-wizards, and 
 rock-sharps generally. All along the banks of the 
 
OVER THE MOUNTAINS AGAIN. IO i 
 
 San Lorenzo, you may see where men sunk wells 
 and money in the vain search for oil. 
 
 From the summit of a low hill above the Valley of 
 the San Lorenzo I looked down for the last time on 
 fair Santa Cruz, embowered in shade-trees, and sur- 
 rounded with broad grain-fields and quiet farm- 
 houses, — on the wide blue Bay of Monterey, and the 
 Taurus Mountains beyond, — on the Pacific flecked 
 with the white sails of ships, — and, turning my face 
 regretfully homewards, galloped away into the 
 mountains northeastwardly, towards San Jose. The 
 road winds up the mountains gently for some miles, 
 then more abruptly, and we presently find ourselves 
 in the midst of dense redwood and pine forests, and 
 breathing the pure resinous air of the mountain 
 woods, with only the well-graded road, and here and 
 there a rough clearing, to remind us of civilization 
 and our fellow-man. The trees where the lumber- 
 man's axe has not done its infamous work stand 
 thickly as the grain in a field, — almost, — and as tall 
 and straight in proportion. The cedars of Lebanon 
 were beautiful to the eyes of the dwellers in arid 
 Palestine, but they were and are but stunted dis- 
 torted dwarfs beside the redwoods and pines of Cali- 
 fornia. As we ride on up towards the summit of the 
 Coast Range, we look down from time to time into 
 narrow little valleys cleared and planted with vines 
 and fruit-trees, and see neat little homesteads sur- 
 rounded with happy and healthy-looking children, 
 and all the evidences of modest prosperity and con- 
 tentment on the part of the owners. Then we give 
 the road to monster ox-teams, ten, fifteen, even 
 
102 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 twenty yokes in a team, drawing huge wagons 
 hitched one behind another, like the cars in a rail- 
 road train, laden with redwood lumber groingf down 
 to the bay for shipment to San Francisco. 
 
 This redwood lumber has some valuable proper- 
 ties, with others of the opposite character. It contains 
 a large amount of iron, and no pitch, and will resist 
 the action of water without showing a sign of decay 
 for many years. It will receive a beautiful finish, 
 and may be colored and varnished to resemble rose- 
 wood so closely that the eye of the most expert 
 wood-worker may be deceived. It shrinks less than 
 pine in drying, and is particularly valuable, there- 
 fore, for the outside of houses when there is no pres- 
 sure upon it. But on the other hand it is almost as 
 brittle as glass, and a two-inch plank of it, resting 
 on the ends, will not support the weight of an ordi- 
 nary man. It splits with the least blow, and is so 
 soft that I have known a small terrier dog, shut up 
 in a new barn built of it, gnaw a hole through the 
 side, or door, and make his escape in half an hour. 
 
 Some half-dozen years ago a curious illustration 
 of the unreliableness of redwood occurred in San 
 Francisco. Workmen were engaged in putting a 
 new asphaltum roof upon the three-story brick block 
 on the southeastern corner of Montgomery and Cali- 
 fornia Streets, and a drayman, who had brought 
 them some material, stood on the battlement wall 
 looking at them. Something attracting his atten- 
 tion, he stepped backward, and to the horror of the 
 spectators cleared the wall entirely, and fell in a per- 
 fectly upright position the whole height of the build- 
 
WHAT A FALL WAS THERE/ IC >3 
 
 ing to the sidewalk below. The crowd rushed to see 
 the mangled corpse of the unfortunate man spread 
 like a pancake over the sidewalk, but to their utter 
 astonishment saw only a round hole in the planking 
 about the size of an ordinary flour-barrel. Looking 
 down through the opening into the cellar, which ex- 
 tended out under the sidewalk, they saw him pick 
 himself up, walk to the stairs under the building, and 
 in a moment more emerge as sound and well as 
 ever, not a bone being broken, nor even a severe 
 contusion received. The explanation of this remark- 
 able occurrence was simple. A part of the side- 
 walk was of tough and hard Oregon pine plank, and 
 a part of stone or brick covered with asphaltum. 
 Between the two there were three redwood planks, 
 and he had struck square on his feet on the centre 
 one, going through it like a 480-pound shot through 
 the roof of a house. Had he fallen a foot and a 
 half on either side of the point where he struck, 
 he would not have lived a second. 
 
 The fact and the party are both well known in San 
 Francisco. The man was about his work next day 
 as usual, and is so to the present time. When the 
 bystanders who had witnessed the terrible fall dis- 
 covered that nobody was hurt, they, Californian-like, 
 began to make all sorts of jokes concerning the 
 affair. Had the man been killed or maimed, a purse 
 for the benefit of his family would almost certainly 
 have been made up for him on the spot. As he was 
 not, it was a fit subject for fun and exaggeration. 
 One said he saw him straighten himself as he went 
 down, and put his hands down on his thighs, like a 
 
104 
 
 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 man diving feet foremost, so as to make a clean 
 hole in whatever was below him. Another declared 
 that when he came out of the cellar he swore 
 roundly that he would bring- suit against the city 
 for damages, for being filled with redwood slivers 
 through the carelessness of its superintendent of 
 streets and sidewalks in allowing redwood to be 
 put down instead of pine. Another still declared 
 that as he fell past the second story window he saw 
 a party inside playing "pitch seven up," and noticing 
 that the dealer was " turning up jack" from the bot- 
 tom of the deck, called out threateningly to him, 
 "None of that, now!" The writer was then en- 
 gaged on the Alta California newspaper, and inci- 
 dentally published these various statements, intima- 
 ting a mild doubt as to the entire reliability of the 
 last. The morning paper was hardly out before the 
 champion fallist came into the office with a copy in 
 his hand, and demanded to see "the man who put 
 that in the paper." Your humble servant was 
 pointed out as the culprit, and he immediately de- 
 manded my authority for the statement. The up- 
 shot of it was that he indignantly denied that there 
 was a word of truth in it, and demanded a retracta- 
 tion. He said, most emphatically, that he saw no- 
 body playing cards as he went past the window ; in 
 fact, did not even look in ; and that had he seen 
 anybody playing, as had been stated, he would not 
 have interfered with their little game, as it was none 
 of his business anyhow. He wanted it understood 
 that he never poked his nose into other people's 
 affairs, and thought it decidedly hard that just be- 
 
HO W THEY BROKE JAIL. IC >5 
 
 cause he happened to have a little fall of forty or 
 fifty feet, people should represent him as a busy- 
 body and meddler with what did not concern him. 
 With as much gravity as I could command I wrote 
 out his statement almost in the words I have given, 
 read it oxer to him, received his thanks, and bowed 
 him out of the room. The retractati )n was published 
 and he was satisfied. 
 
 The county jail at Redwood City, San Mateo 
 County, was formerly — and I believe still is — built 
 wholly of this peculiarly brittle and unreliable wood. 
 As a matter of course, a prisoner who could com- 
 mand an ordinary table-knife never tarried long 
 within its walls, unless afflicted with a laziness by 
 no means characteristic of Californians. One night 
 four or five prisoners who had been there for some 
 weeks left in disgust, and the writer chronicled the 
 escape for a San Francisco paper, stating incidentally 
 that it was understood that they dug their way out 
 with the aid of a table-spoon and tenpenny nail. 
 Some days later an indignant denial of this last 
 proposition was received from the skedaddlers, dated 
 at Livermore Pass, Alameda County, then a favorite 
 resort for desperate characters. They protested 
 that they were not jail-breakers in the ordinary ac- 
 ceptation of the term, but unfortunate victims of 
 untoward circumstances. Their version of the case 
 was this. One of their number was standing upon 
 one foot, drawing the boot off the other, when he 
 slipped, and falling backward, went plump through 
 the side of the building, landing on his head outside. 
 Seeing the damage which had been done uninten- 
 
I 6 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 tionally, and supposing that they would have to pay 
 i r the same, they concluded that it was best to 
 "lamos the ranch," and left accordingly. They added 
 that, when the rainy season set in, and sleeping out- 
 doors became unpleasant, they would return to jail, 
 provided the county would agree to charge them 
 nothing for repairs, and see that the place was made 
 water-tight and comfortable. Their liberal offer was 
 not accepted, and when last heard from they were 
 still in the hills, rejoicing in poverty and virtuous 
 liberty. 
 
 The stages from Santa Clara come over this 
 mountain road daily, at break-neck speed, — especi- 
 ally on the down grade, — and the drivers make it a 
 point to scare the uninitiated tourists half out of 
 their lives, by taking apparently unnecessary risks 
 at the most dangerous points. At the summit or 
 near it, on the Santa Cruz or ocean side of the 
 mountain, there is a long, narrow ridoe, or " hoir- 
 back," along which the stage road runs. The view 
 from this is magnificent, and the descent, where the 
 road winds in and out the deep canons, turning at 
 sharp angles, the stage clinging to the side of the 
 precipice like a squirrel to the side of a tree, almost 
 enough to take one's breath away ; sometimes it is 
 quite enough. Once, not many years ago, a parti- 
 cularly ambitious driver, coming down this descend- 
 ing grade at railroad speed, " missed stays" as he 
 essayed to turn an unusually sharp angle, and stage, 
 team, and passengers went over. I don't know how 
 many hundred feet it is to the bottom of that preci- 
 pice, but I do know that the funeral was one of the 
 
THE STREAMS OF THE COAST RANGE. 
 
 IO7 
 
 most extensive and select ever held in Santa Cruz 
 County, and everybody admitted that the under- 
 taker's work could not have been done more taste- 
 fully, nor could the minor details have been carried 
 out in better shape, in San Francisco. 
 
 From the summit we look down the northeastern 
 slope of the mountains, upon the wide and beautiful 
 Valley of Santa Clara, and the blue Bay of San 
 Francisco shimmering in the distance through the 
 light veil of autumnal vapor which hangs over it, 
 and drapes with a robe of royal purple the Valley 
 of Alameda and the mountain heights beyond. 
 
 At a roadside inn just below the summit, we find 
 a well-spread table, and dine sumptuously: peaches 
 and cream — not pale-blue milkman's milk, such as 
 we get in town, but real, rich, yellow, old-fashioned 
 cream such as mother's pantry used to furnish us 
 years ago — coming in for the dessert. Another 
 hour's ride, and we are descending the Valley of 
 Los (r'd/os, whose waters, now no longer the home 
 of the mountain trout, run of the color of "Old 
 London Port at twelve dollars per dozen," the hue 
 being imparted by the redwood sawdust which chokes 
 its course in drifts and bars for miles. There is a 
 curious fact in connection with these Coast Range 
 mountain streams of California. When the long, 
 dry, summer days come on, they fail almost entirely, 
 disappearing in places for miles, then perhaps run- 
 nino- fresh and clear, though in small volume, for a 
 short distance over a rocky bed, only to sink from 
 sight again, possibly not to reappear again through 
 all the course of the stream to its outlet in river, sea, 
 
TO g SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 or bay. But when the days begin to grow shorter 
 and cooler, and the nights longer, though not a drop 
 of rain has fallen for months, and the sky is still un- 
 clouded and blue as sapphire, the waters begin to 
 reappear and increase in volume, and long before 
 the winter rains descend the streams are running 
 half bank full again. The secret of this is, that the 
 surface evaporation increases with the length of the 
 days and the heat of the sun, and diminishes as they 
 diminish, the sources of supply, far in the deep, shady 
 recesses of the mountains, remaining undiminished 
 through all the season. 
 
 Another hour's ride clown the shady road, and we 
 emerge into the open Valley of Santa Clara, and for 
 the first time in a week the familiar whistle of the 
 locomotive falls upon our ears. Cool, quiet woods, 
 lonely sea-shore, mountain heights, mementos of 
 Castilian civilization, and best of all, the welcome 
 rest and solitude of nature, good-by ! Henceforth 
 you are to me but a pleasant dream of the past. 
 
 In the mountains of Santa Cruz I met an old 
 friend whom I had not seen before for years. He 
 was crossing the mountains like myself on horse- 
 back, and would gladly bear me company as far as 
 the western border of the Valley of Santa Clara. 
 What had he been doing since he had drifted out of 
 my sight some years before ? As we rode through 
 the forest he told me little by little the story of his 
 later life, the main event in which impressed me 
 deeply. As he told me the story then and there, I 
 will tell it now to you. 
 
 " The long, hot September day was drawing to a 
 
MY FRIEND'S STORY. 
 
 IOO 
 
 close at last, and the fierce sun of the desert sinking 
 down on the horizon, when our little cavalcade 
 wound round the bend in the trail, and we sighted 
 the little adobe inclosure — half fort, half corral — 
 called by courtesy ' The Station,' near the Picacho, 
 on the old overland road, between Tucson and San 
 Xavier del Bac, in southern Arizona, and the Pima 
 villages on the Gila. 
 
 " We had left the upper valley of the Rio Grande 
 too early in the season by a month, at least ; and 
 our trip thus far, on the road to California, had been 
 a hard one. The coarse, dry bunch-grass, or gaieta, 
 never abundant on this route, was unusually scarce 
 that summer ; and, as we were forced to cruard our 
 animals night and day, to prevent a surprise and 
 capture by the Apaches, they got scarcely enough 
 of it to keep life within them. We were hurrying 
 on as rapidly as possible for the Gila, where we 
 could purchase corn-fodder and barley from the 
 friendly Indians, and proposed to camp for some 
 time and recruit our worn-down stock, before turn- 
 ing westward toward the Colorado and the Pacific 
 Coast. As we were unpacking that evening on the 
 Picacho, I missed a package containing a valuable 
 set of mathematical and drawing instruments, and 
 some important papers, which I could not afford to 
 lose. They had been put, with other articles, on a 
 pack-mule, in the morning ; but, having been care- 
 lessly corded, had worked loose and fallen off on 
 the road, without being noticed. Finding I could 
 borrow a fresh horse at the station, I determined to 
 ride back up the trail in the cool of the evening — 
 
HO SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 preferring to trust the chances of being captured by 
 the Apaches to losing the package. The night was 
 clear, and the full moon lighted up the landscape so 
 that everything of any size for miles around was al- 
 most as distinctly visible as at midday. I had ridden 
 at a gallop some ten or twelve miles, when I saw 
 the package, King beside the road, under a scrub 
 mesquite-tree, which had raked it off, as the mule ran 
 under it. Dismounting, I secured the package upon 
 the back of my saddle, and, having tightened the 
 cinch, was just mounting again for the return to the 
 station, when my horse gave a loud snort and jumped 
 backward, looking up the road toward Tucson, with 
 staring eyes, nostrils distended, and ears pricked 
 sharply forward. I knew what this meant in Apache 
 Land, and was on his back in an instant, and out 
 into an open space beyond the reach of arrows, which 
 might be shot from behind any shrub or rock. Death 
 haunts your steps, day and night, in that land of 
 blood ; and man and horse acquire habits of the 
 most intense vigilance. Looking up the road in the 
 direction indicated, I saw something moving along 
 the trail, about a fourth of a mile distant, which 
 looked like a small boy. Proper caution would have 
 prompted me to turn and ride straight back to the 
 station ; but just then I remembered that we had 
 seen, some distance back upon the trail, the foot- 
 prints of a human being — apparently those of a 
 little boy — in the dust of the road ; and noticed that 
 they finally left the track and turned away into the 
 chaparral. There were no other footprints with them ; 
 and this fact, in such a locality, had caused us to 
 
k 
 
SHOWING HIMSELF FRIENDLY. IIX 
 
 indulge in considerable speculation and conjecture 
 as to who had made them. Remembering all this, 
 my curiosity was excited ; and, after a few moments' 
 hesitation, seeing that the object, whatever it was, 
 had stopped and crouched down, having apparently 
 noticed me just then for the first time, I rode cau- 
 tiously up the road toward it. I had reached within 
 ten or fifteen rods of the object, when it sprang up 
 and darted into the chaparral, and, as it did so, I 
 saw what appeared to be a young Indian, dressed in 
 Mexican costume — loose shirt and wide pants of 
 cotton goods, and a broad sombrero. All was quiet 
 for a moment, and then I called out, in English, 
 * Who is there ?' There came no response. I then 
 repeated the question in Spanish. A little, weak, 
 frightened voice replied, in the same language, this 
 time, — 
 
 '"Only a poor Christiano, sefior! And you are 
 not an Apache?' 
 
 "'No; I am a friend,' I replied. 
 
 " ' Thanks be to God ; I am saved !' was the 
 devout response; and the little fellow ran out from 
 his hiding-place, and, coming directly up to me, 
 seized my hand and covered it with kisses, praying 
 and uttering thanks, and crying hysterically, all at 
 once. 
 
 " He was a boy of apparently twelve or thirteen 
 years of age, small and slender, and dressed in 
 clothes much too large for him. It took me some 
 minutes to get anything like a connected account 
 of his troubles from him ; but I finally gathered that 
 he had been on his way from Hermosillo, in Sonora, 
 
l 12 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 to Los Angeles, in California, with a party of Mexi- 
 can friends, consisting of a man and his wife, another 
 boy, and two mozos. They had turned out from the 
 road, to camp where there was some grass ; and 
 while preparing for the night, they had been jumped 
 by the Apaches, and all shot down but himself. He 
 had happened to be a few yards away from the camp 
 when the attack was made; and, concealing himself, 
 had escaped detection. The Apaches had only re- 
 mained at the camp, after committing the massacre, 
 but a few minutes, being evidently afraid of having 
 drawn the attention of some stronger party by the 
 firing; and, after scalping their victims, rode away 
 in haste upon the captured animals. The poor boy 
 had wandered away from the road, in his terror and 
 despair, and for three days had been traveling around 
 at random, endeavoring to regain the trail, or dis- 
 cover a station where he would find shelter and 
 protection. Late that day he had found the trail, 
 and followed it several miles; but, becoming faint 
 and exhausted from long exposure and the want of 
 food, he had turned out to lie down for a rest^under 
 a tree ; and, having fallen asleep, had missed us en- 
 tirely as we passed only a few hundred yards from 
 him. He had found water once, and had eaten a 
 few mesquite bean-pods, which had fallen in his way, 
 thus sustaining life. His clothing was torn to shreds 
 by the thorny shrubs through which he had passed ; 
 his feet were swollen from long walking on the hot, 
 dry earth, and filled with cactus-spines; and, between 
 weariness, hunger, and thirst, he was so nearly dead 
 that it is doubtful if he would have had strength 
 
FRIENDLESS AND FORLORN. 
 
 113 
 
 enough to reach the station, had he not fallen in 
 with me, almost by a miracle, as he did. 
 
 "I always loved children, though I had none of my 
 own ; and my heart's warmest sympathy was enlisted 
 for this poor, suffering hoy. I had some water with 
 me, in my canteen, and, by the greatest good luck 
 imaginable, a handful of dry soda-crackers in my 
 pocket, — the remains of my afternoon lunch. He 
 swallowed the water with trembling eagerness, and 
 munched the dry crackers, in spite of his sore mouth, 
 swollen tongue, and bleeding lips, as he rode back 
 to the station behind me on my horse, telling Ins 
 story, little by little, as he could collect his thoughts 
 and call to mind the incidents. 
 
 " He was a half-orphan, his mother having died a 
 year before at Hermosillo. His father had gone to 
 Alta California, three years before, leaving him and 
 his mother in Sonora, to follow him when his cir- 
 cumstances would warrant sending for them ; and 
 on the mother's death, he had written for the boy to 
 come with the first party of friends who might be 
 going over the road, to join him at Los Angeles. 
 The party which had been murdered were not rela- 
 tives, but kind friends ; and, Spanish-like, he had 
 become so attached to them that he mourned their 
 fate so deeply as to almost forget his own fearful 
 peril, and helpless, lonely condition, when he spoke 
 of it, with tears coursing down his sunburned, blis- 
 tered face, and sobs and sighs choking his utterance. 
 Before we reached the station, I had already come 
 to look upon him as my peculiar charge, — a waif 
 thrown in my way by Providence which T was bound 
 
 8 
 
U4 
 
 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 to care for and protect ; and the idea of adopting 
 him into my family, in case I could not find his father 
 at Los Angeles, more than once occurred to me. 
 
 "All my traveling companions, save one, — a big, 
 rough brute, known as Waco' Bill, — took a kindly 
 interest in the little unfortunate, and consented to 
 my adding him to the party. That night we suc- 
 ceeded in finding him a pair of shoes, which would 
 keep his bleeding feet from the sun and the rough 
 rocks of the road, and a blanket to wrap around his 
 shoulders when traveling ; and, after a hearty meal 
 of the best we could prepare for him in camp, he 
 fell asleep. I had a large black dog — half-hound, 
 half-mastiff — which had accompanied us on the trip, 
 and was very useful in watching the camp, and guard- 
 ing us against surprise by the Indians. He was as 
 savage as a tiger, and could scent an Apache a mile 
 away. Butcher went up to little Manuel — the boy's 
 name was Manuel de la Cruz — as soon as I brought 
 him into camp, and, to the surprise of everybody, 
 immediately manifested the warmest friendship for 
 him. Thenceforth the boy and the dog were almost 
 inseparable companions. That night Manuel slept 
 near me, with Butcher lying watchfully at his feet ; 
 and, time after time, the little fellow would start up, 
 suddenly reach out his hand to touch me, and make 
 sure that I was still there, then, reassured, curl down 
 again under his ample blanket, and close his eyes in 
 slumber. Next morning, I rigged a temporary sad- 
 dle for my protege, and, mounting him on one of my 
 pack-mules, installed him as a member of the ex- 
 pedition, as we took up our line of march again for 
 
MANUEL S QUALIFh \ I TIONS. j i r 
 
 the Gila. Big Waco Bill was a thorough Texan out- 
 law, who had joined our party more because none 
 of us cared to insist on denying him permission to 
 do so than because any of us really wanted him 
 along. He despised everything Mexican, and fre- 
 quently alluded in no friendly manner to ' that d 
 
 little Greaser' whom I had picked up on the road 
 and was taking with me to California. Butcher, 
 who had taken so kindly to Manuel, had hated Bill 
 from the start, and this fact served still more to 
 awaken his enmity to the boy. However, we got 
 on pretty well for several days. Manuel — though, 
 curiously enough for a Mexican boy, a poor rider, 
 and not at all skilled in packing horses, lassoing 
 mules, or similar accomplishments, on which his 
 countrymen generally pride themselves — showed a 
 genuine anxiety to make himself useful : he was a 
 capital cook, ingeniously adding a number of dishes 
 hitherto unknown to our bill of fare in camp, and 
 with a needle he was as good as any woman, cheer- 
 fully setting himself to work to sew on buttons, or 
 patch and repair our tattered clothing, whenever he 
 had a moment's leisure. To me he was completely 
 devoted, and there was nothing he would not try to 
 do, if I asked him. On the other hand, he seemed 
 to shrink instinctively from the presence of Bill, and 
 repaid all the hatred and contempt of that worthy,. 
 with interest, in his own quiet way. His com- 
 plexion, though his skin was scorched and burned 
 by exposure to the savage desert sun, was much 
 lighter than that of most Mexicans of the lower 
 class, and his features indicated pure or nearly pure 
 
H6 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 Castilian descent. He was not strong, and quite 
 timid and nervous ordinarily, but, in presence of 
 actual danger, would suddenly develop genuine 
 pluck and courage such as constitutes the hero in 
 life. After we reached the Gila, we camped near 
 the Pima villages, with the intention of remaining 
 there some ten days or two weeks, to thoroughly 
 recruit our animals. One day I had been out with 
 my shot-gun after quail and rabbits, leaving Manuel 
 and Butcher in charge of the camp, and, returning 
 just before nightfall, heard, while still some distance 
 away, a noisy altercation going on. As I afterward 
 learned, Waco Bill, who had been off all da)', had 
 returned late, half drunk, and in a quarrelsome 
 mood. On coming into camp, he had ordered 
 Manuel to go to the river for a pail of water ; and 
 the boy, who would have brought it instantly had I 
 but intimated a wish for him to do so, instead of 
 complying with the command, resented it, and kept 
 on with the sewing upon my clothing at which he 
 was busy, showing only by the flashing of his large, 
 lustrous, dark eyes, and the quivering of his red lips 
 over his snow-white teeth, that he had heard what was 
 said to him. Bill, infuriated at this, ran toward the 
 boy to seize and punish him, when the latter sprang 
 to his feet, and, catching the coffee-pot from the 
 coals, where it stood simmering, threw it full at him, 
 a portion of the scalding contents striking him on 
 the arms, the breast and neck, and causing him fairly 
 to howl with rage and pain. As I came in sight, the 
 boy stood a few yards from the fire with the butcher- 
 knife, which we used for cutting bacon, in his hand, 
 
.•/ CRITICAL CONDITION OF THINGS. 
 
 117 
 
 prepared to defend himself to the death, though 
 trembling: from head to foot like a leaf from excite- 
 merit, while Bill was coming - out of the tent with his 
 big Colt's six-shooter in his hand, and malice which 
 would stop nothing short of murder convulsing his 
 countenance. Butcher, the dog, as if comprehend- 
 ing at a glance the condition of affairs, dashed for- 
 ward at Bill as he came out, and the latter stumbling 
 over him, both rolled pn the ground. Bill was on 
 his feet again in an instant, more fairly beside him- 
 self than ever; but I had by this time reached within 
 striking distance, and seeing that he meant mischief 
 of the murderous description, without a moment's 
 reflection dealt him a blow with my full strength 
 with the butt of my gun, and he went down like a 
 bullock. The blow took effect partly on his neck, 
 and, though it brought him down, it did not disable 
 him, and he, still holding the revolver in his hand, 
 almost regained his feet before I could repeat it. 
 The second blow broke his right arm near the elbow, 
 causing the pistol to drop from his now powerless 
 hand ; and at the same moment the dog, which had 
 made several savage snaps at him, fastened his teeth 
 firmly in the muscles of his leg, to which he hung 
 for several minutes with a grip like a vice, before I 
 could break his hold and release the now helpless 
 and half-dead bully. 
 
 "When the row was all over, and Bill's wounds 
 dressed as well as possible under the circumstances, 
 quiet settled down on the camp. Then Manuel 
 came, and, crouching down on the ground by my 
 side, seized my hand and kissed it, and, his voice 
 
M S SANTA CRUZ AND rTS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 half choked with sobs, exclaimed, over and over 
 again : ' Oh, my father, my friend, my benefactor, 
 why did not the Apaches kill me before I brought 
 this trouble upon you ? I would have died for you, 
 — I would, in truth, — and here I have put your life 
 in peril ! But, father of my heart, don't drive me 
 away from you ! I will go through fire to serve 
 you : let me have the opportunity to prove to you 
 my devotion, my eternal gratitude !' 
 
 " I was not angry with the boy : how could I be ? 
 I told him so again and again, and, having quieted 
 him at last, went and consulted with my partners 
 on the situation. They agreed with me that it was 
 best I should leave the part)' and push on to Cali- 
 fornia ahead. Waco Bill was disposed of for the 
 time being, but he might recover in a few days suf- 
 ficiently to do me mischief; and we all felt sure that 
 it was in his nature to stop at nothing in the way 
 of obtaining revenge. The party could not move 
 on for some two weeks, their animals being far 
 more worn down than mine ; so I determined to go 
 on alone next day with Manuel, and trust to luck to 
 fall in with another party on the trail to Fort Yuma. 
 It was a risky venture, but tlK* best we could do 
 under the circumstances. We W( re off bright and 
 early next morning. As soon as we were out ol 
 sight of the party Manuel gave a sigh of relief, and 
 asked, with affecting earnestness, ' Will you always 
 be my friend, capitan ?' He asked me the question 
 a hundred times in the course of our journey down 
 the Gila, receiving the same answer every time. 
 Alone with me, his shyness, which had been so 
 
POLISH AND PROGRESS. 
 
 II 9 
 
 marked while with the party, disappeared ; his spirits 
 rose day by day, and he seemed to have almost 
 wholly recovered from the terrible shock caused by 
 the butchery of his friends. I had found some cheap 
 clothing at the Pima villages, which he had quickly 
 razeed to fit him ; and with this, and with his glossy 
 black hair — which, when I found him, had the ap- 
 pearance of having been hacked off with a dull 
 knife — neatly cut, his appearance had changed won- 
 derfully. A neater little figure than he now pre- 
 sented you would have to go far to see. We slept 
 every night at or near one of the old stage stations, 
 and by care and good-fortune escaped attack by the 
 Apaches, through the whole trip down the Gila to 
 Fort Yuma. At the latter place we stopped some 
 days to rest and recruit, and wait for a party which 
 was bound ' inside,' like ourselves. 
 
 " There were quite a number of Manuel's country- 
 men and countrywomen here, but he seemed to 
 avoid them all as far as possible, never leaving my 
 company for a moment, if he could help it. A 
 priest, who happened to be at the post, was to say 
 mass there on Sunday; and Manuel told me, with 
 satisfaction beaming on his countenance, that we 
 could now say our prayers, and thank God and the 
 saints for our escape from the many dangers of our 
 journey. He looked both surprised and pained 
 when I told him that I was not a Catholic, and 
 could not join him in his devotions ; but, after a 
 moment, remarked, 'Then, with your permission, 
 friend of my heart, I will pray for you !' and I am 
 sure that he did so with the earnestness of a simple, 
 
I2 o SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 trusting soul, and a faith which knew no shadow of 
 doubt. 
 
 " From Fort Yuma to the settlements near Los 
 Angeles, our journey was devoid of special danger 
 or excitement, as we were out of the hostile Indian 
 country and had little to fear from horse-thieves 
 even, with such indifferent stock as we traveled with. 
 As we drew near our journey's end, Manuel's spirits 
 began to sink again, and I saw that he looked upon 
 the fast-approaching hour, when we must separate, 
 with sadness and apprehension. As we rode along 
 he talked with me of my family and my prospects 
 in life. He was particularly anxious to know how 
 he could always be certain of reaching me, or hear- 
 ing from me. When I gave him my address, 
 minutely written out, he immediately sewed it into 
 his jacket, so that it could not work out and be lost, 
 and I saw him pressing his hand against it, over and 
 over again, to be sure that he was not mistaken, and 
 had it safe. He would, indeed, like to go to the 
 great city of San Francisco with me, and always be 
 my son, but then his father was old, and would, now 
 that his mother was dead, find it hard to part with 
 him ; and his sister — of whom he knew little, as he 
 had not seen her for years — would need his protec- 
 tion. So he could not go with me to the great city, 
 but he would never cease to pray for me, and if 
 ever I needed his company or assistance, he would 
 leave father and sister, and all, to come to me : I 
 might be sure of that. I looked down into his 
 trusting, tearful eyes, and was sure of it, and felt 
 more kindlv and charitably toward all the world for 
 
THE DREAD OE SEPARATION, j ;» r 
 
 the assurance. On the last day's journey toward 
 Los Angeles, Manuel hardly talked at all. His 
 mind seemed to be filled with sad thoughts which 
 his tongue could not utter. 
 
 " It was nightfall when we came in sight of the 
 * City of the Angels,' and I realized that my long 
 journey of thousands of miles on horseback, from 
 Texas to the shore of the Pacific, would soon be 
 over, and I should, in a few minutes more, be in 
 communication with home, and wife, and friends in 
 San Francisco. Just then Manuel called me back 
 to the rear of the party, and, with quivering voice, 
 told me that I must not think hard of him if he left 
 me immediately on arriving in Los Angeles. His 
 father had not seen him for so long a time that he 
 was in duty bound to seek him out at once. As he 
 said this he held my hand with an eager, trembling 1 
 grasp in both his own, and looked up, with a long- 
 ing, mournful expression, into my face. I under- 
 stood and respected his feeling. He wished to bid 
 me good-by, then and there, when no one was look- 
 ing at us. I bent clown from my saddle, and, throw- 
 ing his arms around my neck, he kissed me with 
 passionate energy ; then, with the exclamation, ' Oh, 
 capitan, capita?/, and I am going to see you no 
 more !' released me, commenced sobbing convul- 
 sively, stopped it with a strong effort, then rode for- 
 ward and rejoined the train, without another word. 
 
 " I had no sooner arrived in Los Angeles than I 
 went to the express -office and got my letters. 
 Everything was going wrong. My poor wife, 
 whose health had been declining for years, was 
 
122 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 growing steadily worse ; my business was suffering 
 from neglect and the need of money, which my 
 partners hoped I would bring from Texas. My 
 trip to Texas had been a failure, for I had found it 
 impossible to sell the greater portion of the lands 
 from which I had expected to realize a handsome 
 sum, and what money I had obtained had nearly all 
 been absorbed in paying taxes on the lands unsold, 
 and the expenses of the trip. The steamer would 
 sail from San Pedro next morning for San Fran- 
 cisco, and I determined to lose no time, but go at 
 once, leaving my horses to be sold by a friend as 
 soon as they had so far recovered from the effects 
 of the trip as to be salable. Manuel had disap- 
 peared as soon as we arrived at the hotel, but I 
 felt sure he would come around in good time in the 
 morning to bid me a last good-by. Morning came, 
 but no Manuel. No one had seen him since we 
 rode up to the door of the hotel. 
 
 " The stage for San Pedro was ready, and I re- 
 luctantly got upon the box, wondering all the time 
 why Manuel neither came nor sent me any word. 
 The hostler from the stable came at the; last moment 
 to tell me that the dog Butcher was also missing. 
 He had howled and acted like a mad creature from 
 the? moment that Manuel left, and, some time during 
 the night, had gnawed in two the rope by which he 
 had been tied in the stable and ran away, no one 
 knew where. They thought he must have gone to 
 find the boy, but no one knew the family of De la 
 Cruz, and so they did not know where to look for 
 him. There was no time to wait, and I left, feeling 
 
C A'. / TEFUL OR UNGRA TEFL Z ? [2 ^ 
 
 more disappointed than I cared to admit. I had be- 
 lieved that Manuel was a living and triumphant 
 contradiction of the vulgar theory that gratitude 
 has no place in the Spanish heart ; and yet he had 
 deserted me at the first opportunity, when there was 
 nothing more to be gained from my friendship, and 
 had even seduced my faithful dog from his alle- 
 giance to me. Reflection would suffice to dispel 
 such ideas for the moment, but they came back 
 again and again with redoubled force, and at last I 
 came to acquiesce in them, and doubt that such 
 things as disinterested friendship and real gratitude 
 were to be found on earth. 
 
 " My business, by patient care and attention, be- 
 came prosperous once more ; but my dear wife grew 
 daily weaker and more wan, despite all that loving 
 kindness could do for her ; and a year after my 
 return I stood by a new-made grave, alone in the 
 world, still under the middle age, a childless, down- 
 cast, disappointed man. 
 
 " Once only during all this time had I heard from 
 Manuel. A Spanish lady, well advanced in years, 
 — for whose children I had once used my influence 
 with some success, and who thereafter always re- 
 garded me both as a friend and a son, — returning 
 from Los Angeles, called at my house and said to 
 me: 'Capitan, I met the sister of your little protege, 
 Manuel, at Los Angeles, and brought you a mes- 
 sage from her. She is very grateful to you for 
 what you did for Manuel, and begs you to accept 
 a little gift in token of her regard.' In the package: 
 I found a pair of fine handkerchiefs, delicately and 
 
124 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 elaborately embroidered, and bearing the initials, 
 1 M. De la C.,' and a note in a neat little hand, but 
 indifferent English : ' Don't think too much hardly 
 of your little Manuel, who will never forget that 
 you were his friend and benefactor, and will pray 
 for you always. He did not wished for leave you, 
 and some time you will know why he did. He 
 would not if he could help it. — Manuela de la 
 Cruz.' 
 
 " I was too much occupied with other thoughts 
 and considerations then to pay much attention to 
 this, but I felt glad to learn that Manuel was not 
 ungrateful, and was sorry — probably ashamed — for 
 having left me so abruptly. 
 
 " After my great loss, I was much alone, and my 
 mind reverted to the subject many times ; and the 
 more I thought of it the more satisfied I became 
 that there was some mystery at the bottom of the 
 whole affair which I had never fathomed. Two 
 more years passed away, and I heard no more of 
 Manuel and his sister. I drank at the club, gambled 
 now and then in a small way at cards, and, in short, 
 trie! — as lonely, disappointed men will try — to for- 
 get the past, kill time in the present, and avoid 
 thinking of the future. 
 
 " One day I was out riding on the San Bruno 
 road, in company with a friend. We had both 
 been drinking a little, but only enough to make us 
 feel like driving a trifle more recklessly than usual. 
 As we were coming home along the bay beyond the 
 Seven-mile House, we came up with a party who 
 had al »o a fast team, and a trial of speed ensued. 
 
FEVER, AND FANCY. 12 5 
 
 Just as we were passing them we rounded a sharp 
 turn in the road, and I saw another team coming 
 from the opposite direction, right before us, not 
 twenty feet off. I had no time to see more. When 
 I regained consciousness, I was lying in bed in my 
 room on Stockton Street, in San Francisco, my leg 
 broken, three ribs fractured, and a terrible gash in 
 my scalp, which extended half-way across my head. 
 They said I had narrowly missed instant death, and 
 it might — probably would — take me six months to 
 recover. As good-fortune would have it, my old 
 Spanish lady friend had seen me brought in, and 
 was attending me assiduously. 
 
 "Then the fever came on, and for days I was raving 
 in delirium, or tossing in distempered sleep, which 
 brought no rest or relief. One day I was lying half 
 asleep, half unconscious, with my head as it were on 
 fire, and my ideas all distorted and confused by the 
 fever-heat which ran through my brain like molten 
 metal, when I felt, or fancied I felt, a cool, soft hand 
 upon my burning forehead, and the touch of moist, 
 velvety lips on mine. It was some seconds before I 
 was fully awakened to consciousness; and then, when 
 I turned my head painfully on my pillow, I saw that 
 there was no one else in the room. I was sure that 
 I could not have been wholly mistaken ; and reach- 
 ing the bell, I rang it for my kind volunteer nurse, 
 who came at once. 
 
 " ' There was somebody else in this room a mo- 
 ment since ?' I said, with a positiveness I did not 
 wholly feel, but with a determination to know the 
 truth. 
 
I2 6 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 " l Yes, capitan, you arc right !' Then, coming to 
 me, she took my hand, and said, ' If you promise me 
 not to be angry, I will tell you something.' 
 
 " I gave the promise. 
 
 " ' Well, then, I have taken a liberty. Manuela, 
 the sister of the boy you found upon the desert, has 
 come to attend upon you, now that you arc in trouble 
 and need loving" care and assistance.' 
 
 " ' But I never saw her in my life !' I said. 
 
 " ' You have seen her brother, and been his friend ; 
 and for his sake she is devoted to you.' 
 
 " • But why did not Manuel come ?' I asked. 
 
 " ' Their father died recently ; and he was detained 
 at home.' 
 
 " Hardly knowing what I did, I said, ' Call Manuela 
 in, then !' 
 
 " The girl came in, and stood, with cheeks suffused 
 and downcast eyes, quietly by my bedside. She was 
 taller than Manuel, and of lighter complexion, but 
 had the same glorious eyes of liquid black, the same 
 dark hair with the tinge of purple when the sunlight 
 rested on it, the same bright, expressive counte- 
 nance, and quick, graceful movement of the little 
 taper hands when speaking. She was very fair to 
 look upon, — as the young palm-tree by the desert 
 spring ; and there was goodness, as well as beauty, 
 in her face. 
 
 " From that day I began to mend. Manuela 
 stayed with my nurse, and was ever at my bed- 
 side, or ready to come at my call. Neatness and 
 taste were in all she did, and at her touch all things 
 grew beautiful. She practiced reading English 
 
A DISAPPOINTMENT. 
 
 127 
 
 hour after hour, every clay, to amuse me, profiting, 
 at the same time, by the lessons. Her hand pre- 
 pared little dulces and other dishes to tempt my 
 slowly returning appetite. Her hand arranged the 
 flowers which filled my room with fragrance ; and 
 her hand bathed my aching brow, and arranged my 
 pillows when sleep grew heavy upon my eyelids. 
 You can o- U css the rest. 
 
 " When I was able to sit up once more, and to 
 begin to bear my weight upon the broken limb and 
 move about the room with the aid of a crutch and 
 the chairs, I was madly, hopelessly in love — despite 
 the disparity of our years — with Manuela, and de- 
 termined that she should not leave me, if I could 
 prevent it. The time came when she told me that 
 she must qx> home ; that I did not need her care and 
 assistance longer. Then I poured forth all which 
 was in my heart ; told her that I should always need 
 her care and sympathy and assistance, and made 
 her the offer of my hand and heart, in all good faith 
 and sincerity, confident of acceptance." 
 
 "And she accepted you, of course?" 
 
 " No ; she did not. She broke from me, with a 
 startled look, as if something which she had long 
 dreaded had come upon her at last, unexpectedly ; 
 and answered me, proudly, but sadly : Love me ? 
 Yes; she could love me, did love me, would always 
 love me. She was proud to receive a true man's 
 love, and to own that she returned it. But she was 
 an orphan, — their father had died since I left Manuel 
 in Los Angeles ; poor ; almost uneducated, and lack- 
 ing all of what we call the necessary accomplish- 
 
I2 8 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 ments. She could not do me credit in society ; and 
 would not risk the chance of seeing me regret my 
 folh', and feel ashamed of my hasty choice. She 
 loved me too much to make me miserable for life ; 
 but would pray for me, night and day, as the dearest 
 and truest friend she had ever found on earth, and 
 would ask me to continue to love her as a sister, or 
 daughter (if I preferred it), and believe her worthy 
 of my affection. She had come to prove her grati- 
 tude to me and do her duty, not to entrap me into a 
 marriage beneath me ; and she wished me to be- 
 lieve it. 
 
 "All this, and more, she told me ; then broke down 
 wholly, and wept passionately, rejecting all my 
 attempts to comfort her. She must, and would, go 
 at once, now that this had happened ; and she left 
 me — half stunned, bewildered, and utterly downcast 
 at this crushing blow — to make the arrangements 
 for her journey back to Los Angeles. 
 
 "My other nurse came in soon after, with her 
 eyes full of tears ; but I could not talk, even to her, 
 of the great sorrow which had come upon me ; it 
 was too sacred for others than Manuela and I to 
 speak of, even though, as I suspected, she knew it 
 all. That night I never closed my eyes in sleep. 
 I formed a thousand plans, but abandoned each, in 
 turn, as impracticable, feeling that, if Manuela had 
 decided on her course, nothing would turn her from 
 it. Manuela came in the afternoon, to bid me good- 
 by. She was pale, sad, and silent. She took my 
 hand ; and I, no longer able to suppress my emotion, 
 turned my head away, in speechless agony. She 
 
A REVELATION. I2 g 
 
 stood a moment, irresolute, and then, in an instant, 
 a wondrous change swept over her. Her arms 
 were around my neck, her head was upon my 
 bosom, and her warm tears falling thick and fast 
 upon my hands. When, at last, she looked up into 
 my face, she said : 
 
 " ' I thought that I was doing my duty, and had 
 the strength to bear it, and go away alone ; but 1 
 had not. I cannot part with you again !' 
 
 " 'Again?' I repeated, inquiringly. 
 
 " 'Yes, — my true, my only friend, — again ! The 
 first time was at Los Angeles. I am the little 
 Manuel whom you found on the Arizona desert, 
 and cared for and protected at the risk of your life. 
 God brought us together then, and now again, for 
 some good purpose ; and I will not leave you more! 
 You know all now ; and I will be your loving wife, 
 to honor and to serve you always, if you still desire 
 it!' 
 
 " She said this with trembling eagerness. In truth 
 I wished it. Then she explained how she had come 
 to deceive us in Arizona, and so long kept up the 
 deception. There was a boy in the party, some- 
 what older than herself, — she was fourteen then, — 
 and when the Indians charged upon the camp she 
 was sitting in the shade, a little distance away, mend- 
 ing some of his clothing. When she realized that 
 her companions and protectors were no more, and 
 the full horror of her situation broke upon her mind, 
 instinct told her that her chances of safety would be 
 better with whoever she might meet, if she donned 
 the costume of the other sex, — which she lost no time 
 
 Q 
 
130 
 
 SANTA CRUZ AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 in doing. When we reached Los Angeles, she hur- 
 ried away to meet her father before the secret of 
 her sex should be discovered by others, and suc- 
 ceeded in assuming again her proper costume, with- 
 out the story becoming known to any one but him. 
 Meeting our mutual friend, — my old Spanish nurse, 
 — she had confided the whole story to her, and she 
 had kept the secret well. God bless her ! 
 
 "The dog Butcher was hunting for Manuel for 
 two days, and recognized Manuela in his place the 
 moment that he found her. He was with her still ; 
 he is with us now. That is his Lark, — the noble old 
 fellow ! This is my ranch ; that is our house, under 
 the madrono-trees up there at the entrance of the 
 canon yonder ; and that is Manuela — God bless her! 
 — coming down to the gateway to meet us, with 
 little Manuel and Manuela by her side. I tell you 
 what it is, old friend, I am just the happiest man in 
 all California, and the most contented, you may be- 
 lieve me !" 
 
 I went in with him, and there, in the quiet sum- 
 mer evening, when the whole air was fragrant with 
 the breath of flowers, saw him sitting beneath his 
 own vine and fig-tree, with his bright-eyed, laughing 
 children on his knees ; and Manuela, whose fair face 
 was radiant with love and pride, leaning trustingly 
 on his shoulder, as one who knows whence comes 
 the strength which, through all trials, shall sustain 
 her. And I did believe him. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 IN THE STREETS OF SAX FRANCISCO. 
 
 Cosmopolitanism of San Francisco. — Its Street Panoramas and Pictures and 
 Sounds. — An Autumn Morning. — The " Barbary Coast." — The Chinese 
 Missionary. — Factory Hands on Holiday. — Funeral of Ah Sam. — A Chi- 
 nese Faction-fight. — An Equestrian Outfit. — The Poundmaster's Van. — 
 General Stampede : its Cause and its Course. — The Pineapple Plant. — 
 The Passers-by. 
 
 Cosmopolitan, in the fullest acceptation of the 
 term, above that of any other city of America, per- 
 haps of the world, is the population of this goodly 
 city of San Francisco, the metropolis of an empire 
 in the near future, of the wealth and grandeur of 
 which we of to-day have hardly yet commenced to 
 dream. Here on the shore of the blue, illimitable 
 Pacific, the human tides circling around the Mobe 
 from east and west, from Europe and the Atlantic 
 slope of America, from Asia, the isles of the ocean, 
 Australia, and farthest Africa, meet and commingle 
 with a deep, incessant roar, even as the waves from 
 the shores of China, Japan, and the Spice Islands 
 meet the floods from the Sacramento and the San 
 Joaquin, at her Golden Gate, and burst in thunder- 
 ing surf on the frowning rocks of Point Lobos and 
 Point Bonita. 
 
 (131) 
 
132 IN THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 One may wander far and wide over the earth 
 without finding- another such a motley crowd as that 
 which on a pleasant evening- pours in a living stream 
 through Kearney or Montgomery Street. Natives 
 of the soil of every State in the Union, Englishmen, 
 Irishmen, Scotchmen, Welshmen, French, Germans, 
 Italians, Greeks, Russians, Swedes, Norwegians, 
 Lnpps, Fins, Portuguese, Spaniards, Mexicans, 
 Panamenos, Chilenos, representatives from every 
 Central and South American country, Canadians, 
 Chinese, Japanese, and Kanakas, abound; and here 
 and there in the throng, at wider intervals, you may 
 at times see the supple, silent little Lascar, or Hindoo, 
 gliding stealthily and serpent-like through the 
 throng; or note the tall turban of the Parsee, or 
 Persian, merchant, who is waiting for the steamer of 
 the P. M. S. S. Co. to bear him back to the shores 
 of Asia; or the red fez of the Turk or Algerine, as 
 he wanders dreamily along, unconsciously lending 
 his assistance in making up the wonderful panorama 
 unrolling itself before you. 
 
 In walking two bloc s you may hear every leading 
 language of Europe, Asia, and America spoken, and 
 see every type of female beauty, from the blonde oi 
 the north to the 1 runette of the sunny South, the 
 dull, almond-eyed daughter of the Celestial Empire 
 to the olive-hued senorita with eyes of liquid flame, 
 from Andalusia or Tropical America. The ever- 
 changing scene is always one of interest, and often 
 at the most unexpected moment one may witness 
 incidents and gaze upon sights such as could not be 
 observed elsewhere in America. 
 
A VISIT TO THE "BARBARY COAST. 
 
 *33 
 
 It is a glorious autumn morning, when the sum- 
 mer trade-winds have spent their force and ceased 
 tor the season, and the winter rains have not yet 
 commenced : Sunday, and the whole population is 
 abroad on the streets ; churchward bend the few; in 
 search of pleasure the many. Passing along Stock- 
 ton Street, we hear the strains of the organ and the 
 voices of the choir, in the Christian temple, mingling 
 with the babel of many tongues on the street, and 
 the rattle and roar of fireworks, and the shrill sounds 
 of the gong, in the courtyard of the temple of Bud- 
 dha or Foh, where "the heathen in his blindness," 
 etc., almost under its very eaves, and beneath the 
 shadow of the cross, and turn down towards the 
 " Barbary Coast," where thieves, murderers, prosti- 
 tutes, and vagabonds from every clime beneath the 
 sun meet and mingle on a common level, and vice, 
 and crime, and wretchedness, and moral and physi- 
 cal degradation unutterable are stamped on the face 
 of every denizen of the evil neighborhood, marking 
 him or her as an outcast, a leper, a pariah, among 
 the children of men. 
 
 A narrow alley, inclosed by high brick buildings 
 cut into innumerable small tenements, and swarm- 
 ing with Chinese men and women of the lower 
 class, runs through the centre of a square or block, 
 from one street to another. This alley is a study 
 for the student of humanity. At its southern en- 
 trance a dozen or twenty persons, all Chinese, male 
 and female, are gathered around a box upon which 
 stands a neatly-clad Chinaman, who holds an open 
 book in Chinese characters in his hand, and is ex- 
 
! 34 /A ' THE STREETS OE SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 pounding the story of the Man of Sorrows, and the 
 mystery of the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the 
 plan of salvation to the listless, indifferent audience. 
 His manner is quiet but earnest, and to us, at first, 
 impressive ; but there is a smile of mocking incre- 
 dulity, or the blank look of utter apathy, on the face 
 of every hearer, and we find ourselves insensibly fall- 
 ing into the line of doubting not only that the list- 
 eners really have souls to be saved, but even that 
 the preacher believes that they have, or in fact 
 feels within himself any deep and abiding interest in 
 the question one way or the other. 
 
 Farther down the alley, a party of Chinese cigar- 
 makers and factory-operatives, on holiday, are play- 
 inir a curious earne of shuttlecock, catching the bat 
 upon their heels, knees, elbows, hands, or heads, as 
 it may chance, and keeping it bounding into the air, 
 and from one player to another, without ever stop- 
 ping or touching the ground, for half an hour at a 
 time. The crowd of spectators of various national- 
 ities is much larger here than around the preacher 
 at the entrance of the alley. 
 
 But down at the lower end of the alley, near Jack- 
 son Street, the largest crowd is gathered and the 
 greatest interest centres. Elbowing our way into 
 the circle of spectators, we manage to gain a view 
 of the ceremonies going on within. In the middle 
 of the alley upon low trestles stands a richly mounted 
 rosewood coffin; and all around it "joss sticks," or 
 little colored wax candles, and sticks of incense, 
 supported by slips of rattan stuck in the earth or 
 the cracks of the planking, are burning. At the 
 
"FUNERAL BAKED MEATS." 
 
 135 
 
 foot of the coffin stands a long table covered with a 
 white cloth, and literally loaded with the materials 
 for a Chinese feast. At the head of the table is a 
 tall pyramid of pink and white rice-cakes, choice 
 fruits, confectionery, gold tinsel ornaments, and 
 flowers. Next comes a huge platter, upon which 
 rests a hog roasted whole, and fancifully adorned, 
 flanked by a chicken and a duck fashioned, with a 
 strange, perverted ingenuity, into the semblance of 
 grotesque, half-human figures, and at the lower end 
 there is a sheep also roasted whole, with a crown of 
 the native wool, fancifully cut and trimmed, still 
 adorning the head. A multitude of little dishes, 
 containing sauces and condiments, are scattered 
 over the table as adjuncts to this feast of the dead. 
 A tall young Chinaman, who is either priest or chief 
 mourner, — we are in doubt which, — stands by the 
 head of the table and directs the ceremonies. He 
 is clad in a simple narrow robe of common unbleached 
 white cotton sheeting, confined at the waist with a 
 girdle of the same material, and has a strip of the 
 same goods bound around his head. Three assist- 
 ants, each similarly clad, are ranged alongside the 
 coffin, and at intervals they kneel and bring their 
 foreheads down to the dust, wailing forth their grief 
 — real or simulated : the latter probably — in unison, 
 chanting what may be a dirge, or a prayer, or a 
 hymn of praise, in the highest key on the scale, 
 while a band, consisting of half a dozen players on 
 the Chinese clarionet, and its variations, one-stringed 
 fiddle, and the indispensable, inevitable, clanging 
 gong, standing around the head of the coffin, fill the 
 
136 
 
 IN THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 air with wild, barbarous music, in which the average 
 Caucasian ear fails to catch even the faintest under- 
 strain of genuine melody. Chinese women with 
 painted faces, silk and satin garments, and lustrous 
 blue-black hair, wonderfully dressed and adorned, 
 look on and laugh and chatter like so many parrots. 
 Chinese artisans in holiday costume smoke their 
 cigars, and coolly comment on the ceremonies and 
 the performers, while Americans, Europeans, and 
 negroes look in and drop out of the crowd, the 
 scene being too common to them to possess more 
 than a momentary interest. A reporter, note-book in 
 hand, climbs into a window from which he can over- 
 look the crowd, and jots down, " Funeral of Ah Sam, 
 boss Chinese cigar-maker, China Alley — died of 
 consumption, induced by opium smoking," jumps 
 down, and is off in search of something more sensa- 
 tional; and we follow him. 
 
 The Chinese Theatre fronts on Jackson Street, 
 nearly opposite the alley from which we have just 
 emerged. There is a large gathering of the lower 
 class of Chinamen, all in dark-blue clothing, around 
 the outer doors, and a deep excitement pervades 
 the surging mass. There is some trouble between 
 two of the leading Chinese clans or companies, 
 and the factions have met before the theatre by 
 accident or design, to discuss the question of the 
 day. The women keep away from the crowd, and 
 a number of well-dressed Chinamen, evidently of 
 the mercantile class, stand seme distance away, 
 watching the progress of events with evident 
 anxiety. Suddenly the tide of angry discussion 
 
AN EQUESTRIAN OUTFIT. 137 
 
 rises higher ; harsh voices, pitched to their highest 
 key, convey epithets of infamous import back and 
 forth ; there is a rush one way, and a scattering in 
 all the others, and a lively fight has commenced. 
 We see hats knocked off, catch glimpses of steel 
 bars swung" into the air above the heads of the ex- 
 cited mass, see here and there the glinting of short 
 swords, brandished with desperate earnestness of 
 intent, and hear the low thud, thud, thud, of the 
 heavy bars falling on naked scalps. Then a pistol 
 rings out sharp and clear above the din, and there 
 is another scattering of the combatants, just as, in 
 answer to the shrill whistles blown long and loud 
 by outside spectators, the police arrive on the run, 
 and knocking right and left with their heavy lignum- 
 vitse clubs and the butts of their revolvers, beat 
 their way through the crowd and arrest the luckless 
 devil who has just been knocked down, beaten, and 
 shot through the shoulder, and now lies bleeding 
 and helpless on the sidewalk, and hurry him and 
 the witnesses away to the calaboose. 
 
 As the officers and their prisoner hurry along 
 Kearney Street toward the City Hall, they divide 
 the attention of the crowds on the sidewalks for the 
 moment with a slender, black, little Mexican, with 
 a thin, sharp face and long moustache, through 
 which his white teeth show, and over which his dark 
 eyes flash with a peculiar Mephistophelean effect, 
 attired in full Spanish- American costume, broad 
 sombrero, short, embroidered jacket, with silver 
 buttons, wide, slashed buckskin pants, looped up 
 with silver lacings at the sides, and long, inlaid 
 
l^S IN THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 Spanish spurs, which jingle like a string of little 
 bells, riding on a fiery little pinto horse, which has 
 the artificial pasedr gait, trotting with the fore legs 
 and galloping with the hind ones, so much prized 
 by gay caballeros who daily ride out on the paseo in 
 his native city of the Montezuma. The headstall is 
 of fine braided hair, and consists of a single strap 
 passing from the bit on either side up to the ears, 
 where it is split to pass on both sides of those organs, 
 to keep it from slipping off, — no forehead-band, curb- 
 strap or throat-latch being used, — and united by a 
 broad silver button at the top of the head. The 
 terrible Spanish bit, at which the high-spirited little 
 steed chafes and champs incessantly until the foam 
 flies right and left from his quivering mouth, is 
 plated with silver; and silver chains attach it to the 
 long, braided hair rein, terminating in a whip, which 
 the rider whirls carelessly around in the air as he rides 
 gayly along with affected indifference to the sensa- 
 tion he is creating. The high pommel of the Span- 
 ish saddle is covered with silver; the long tapaderos, 
 which cover and depend from the stirrups, are 
 tipped with the same metal, and the whole saddle is 
 elaborately embossed and ornamented. Behind the 
 crupper is an embroidered baqnerillo, with sides of 
 llama skin with long, glossy, black wool hanging down 
 almost to the ground. It is "an outfit" which would 
 make a sensation in Hyde Park or the Central, and 
 always attracts the admiring attention of strangers 
 as it passes along the streets of San Francisco. 
 
 Early on a week-day morning you may see an- 
 other of the specialties of San Francisco, — the 
 
DIRECT TAXATION. 
 
 139 
 
 poundmastcr's van and its attendants, — a van with 
 open sides, through which may be seen the heads 
 of luckless, unlicensed dogs and goats, and occa- 
 4 sionally a pet pig or lamb, drawn by two horses 
 driven leisurely along by a fat and happy-looking 
 assistant dog-pelter, by whose side sits a Mexican 
 or native Californian half-Indian vaqjtcro, with his 
 long, rawhide rieta coiled ready for instant use in 
 his hand. Beside the van rides another vaqtiero 
 on horseback ready for the chase ; and behind rides, 
 on horseback, a policeman with star and baton ex- 
 posed, ready to arrest anybody guilty of interfering 
 with the operations of the dog ordinance of the city 
 and county of San Francisco, and the statutes of 
 the State " in such cases made and provided." 
 
 As the van jolts along over the rough cobble 
 pavement the imprisoned canines give vent to 
 mournful howls, on hearing which every unlicensed 
 but " posted" dog on the street takes to his heels 
 and flees from the neighborhood as from a pesti- 
 lence, while the licensed cur, with the tax-collector's 
 tag upon his collar, comes boldly up to the vehicle 
 in perfect consciousness of security, and howls defi- 
 ance at the persecutors of his race. 
 
 A Frenchwoman of no uncertain social status is 
 passing along the street at the moment, with a King 
 Charles spaniel snugly ensconced in her arms and a 
 sprightly black-and-tan running along by her side. 
 There is no tag" on the neck of either doof, a fact 
 which the poundmaster's assistants comprehend at 
 a glance, and the vaquero on the driver's seat jumps 
 down on the instant and darts toward them. The 
 
140 
 
 IN THE STREETS OE SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 woman sees the peril of her pets, and attempts to 
 catch up the black-and-tan also in her arms ; but the 
 rieta comes spinning - through the air, and the fatal 
 noose is around his neck before her hand has 
 touched him. In the effort to grasp him as he is 
 jerked away she drops the spaniel also, and in the 
 fraction of a second the mounted vaquero whirls 
 the rieta around his head and sends it straight as 
 an arrow at the little fellow, lassoes him at the first 
 attempt, and lands him half way into the middle of 
 the street with the recoil of the rieta, as a boy 
 would land a perch or chub, at the end of his line, 
 on the bank of a stream. There is a wild outcry 
 on the part of the woman, an indignant appeal for 
 help to the unsympathetic bystanders, a tearful and 
 angry dispute with the smiling driver of the van, 
 and finally the excited woman pays over ten dollars 
 in coin, — five dollars for each pet, — receives a mild 
 caution not to let them be caught a second time 
 without the license-tag on their collars, and moves 
 hurriedly away, breathing maledictions long and 
 loud upon the devoted heads of the poundkeeper 
 and all his assistants and the makers of the infa- 
 mous laws, which thus tear the heartstrings out of a 
 poor woman and rob her of her hard-earned 
 ddllars. 
 
 A wilder excitement, something more peculiarly 
 Californian, and as such more keenly enjoyed by 
 the excitement-loving San Franciscans, follows close 
 upon the last. Shouts of warning, the fall of goods 
 piled up in front of Kearney Street stores and 
 shops, the banging of doors, and the rattle of many 
 
COMBAT AND VICTORY. 
 
 I 4 I 
 
 feet upon the sidewalk, announce the presence of 
 physical danger and the commencement of a general 
 stampede. Out of Pacific Street into Kearney, with 
 head erect, glaring eyes, and nostrils wide distended 
 with rage, terror and fatigue, rushes a wild, long- 
 horned, Spanish steer, which has broken away from 
 a drove being landed at North Beach, and, Malay- 
 like, is running a muck through the city, to the immi- 
 nent peril of life and limb of every person he meets 
 on his way. The frightened and infuriated animal 
 dashes madly at every living object which attracts 
 his attention, knocks down and tramples upon sev- 
 eral persons not fleet enough to escape him, and is 
 only prevented from goring them to death with his 
 long, sharp horns, by the shouts and execrations 
 of his pursuers, two swarthy, Mexican vaqueros, 
 mounted and equipped like the poundmaster's 
 assistant, who are all the time close upon him, en- 
 deavoring to head him off and turn him back or 
 capture him at the first opportunity. Dashing full 
 tilt at a passing vehicle, the steer recoils half-stunned 
 from the shock, and in an instant the lasso, hurled 
 by one of the vaqueros, is around his head under 
 the horns, and the other has caught him in a similar 
 manner by one of the hind legs. One of the 
 vaqueros, with a deep-drawn " C-a-r-a-j-o !" swings 
 his excited pony-steed sharply half around in one 
 direction, the other swings his in the opposite; there 
 is a sharp thud as each rieta straightens like a bow- 
 string, and the steer goes down heavily in the dust. 
 He struggles madly in the toils for an instant, but 
 in less time than it takes to write this, or to read it, 
 
I4 2 IN THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 one of the poundmaster's assistants is by his side, 
 throwing his ricta around him in every direction, as 
 he twists and turns, until his limbs are securely 
 bound like those of a fly in the web of a spider, and 
 he lies panting, bruised, bleeding, and helpless on 
 the pavement. Such scenes as this are now less 
 common in San Francisco than a few years since, 
 but they may still be witnessed occasionally, and 
 add something to the charm of life in the Golden 
 City. 
 
 In a window on Kearney Street a pineapple plant, 
 in full bearing, with the ripe, luscious fruit in per- 
 fection upon the top, is on exhibition as an adver- 
 tisement of a famous suburban garden where it was 
 raised under cover. As the crowd drifts idly along, 
 one and another turn to look at the glory of the 
 tropics with a casual remark. A party of young 
 Spanish- American girls pause longer, and speak in 
 low, soft tones of the memories called up by it. As 
 they too turn to go, a yellow negress, from Panama, 
 Peru, or one of the Spanish West India Islands, 
 clad in a long, loose gown of gaudy-hued calico, 
 with a scarlet handkerchief of rich China silk bound 
 around her head, forming a turban, and loose, slip- 
 shod slippers on her feet, lazily purring away at a 
 cigarrito which she holds daintily between her thumb 
 and forefinger of the left hand, waddles up before 
 the window and looks in. "Ah, Dios mio! Dios mio! 
 Hijo de mi pais!" she exclaims, clapping her hands 
 in sudden excitement, every trace of listless in- 
 difference gone in an instant. Pouring forth a 
 volume of broken English and provincial Spanish 
 
ONE TOUCH OF NATURE." 
 
 14: 
 
 by turns, she looks first at one bystander and then 
 at another, addressing- each invariably in the wrong 
 tongue, gesticulating wildly as she strives to express 
 the delight which fills her heart at this sudden re- 
 calling of the memories of her childhood, and the 
 scenes and associations which surrounded the home 
 of her youth. " One touch of nature makes the whole 
 world kin ;" the prejudices of race and education give 
 way before it, and there is something of human 
 sympathy on the face of every bystander as she 
 moves reluctantly away, turning ever and anon for 
 another elance at the souvenir of her native land, 
 which, like the palm-tree in the gardens of Paris to 
 the desert Arab, long wandering from his home, has 
 become to her an object of adoration. 
 
 Such, in brief, are some of the scenes which one 
 may witness, and which will most attract the atten- 
 tion of the stranger, in a morning's ramble through 
 the streets of San Francisco. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TAMALPAIS. 
 
 Where it is Situated. — Some Speculation as to the Signification of the Name 
 and its Possible Origin. — Our Start for the Mountain. — The Trip to San 
 Rafael and Adventures by the Way. — Ascending the Mountain. — First 
 Blood. — The View of the Bay and City of San Francisco. — Mount Diablo 
 puts in an Appearance. — At the Summit. — A Bear-faced Fraud. — Fine 
 Study of a Fog Bank. — A Faithless Guide. — Wandering >r the Mist. 
 — Out of the Woods. — An Afternoon's Sport. — A Painfu 1 Subject. — ■ 
 Adios Tamalpais ! 
 
 There is not a finer mountain for its height, — 
 two thousand six hundred feet, — on all the con- 
 tinent of America, than Tamalpais, the bold abut- 
 ment of the Coast Range on the northern side of 
 the Golden Gate, a low spur of which runs down 
 into the Pacific Ocean and forms Point Bonita 
 (Beautiful Point), on which stands the lighthouse 
 which guides the mariner into the entrance of the 
 Bay and Harbor of San Francisco. The origin and 
 signification of the name are matters of doubt. Mai 
 pais is a common designation for rocky barren 
 ground, in all Spanish -American countries, and 
 Ta-mal-pais may be a corruption of that term, the 
 unnecessary primary syllable having perhaps been 
 engrafted upon it by the Indians or Russians after 
 the Spanish settlement of the country. Another 
 suggestion — a very hazardous one — as to its 
 origin is as follows. There is a dish, toothsome, 
 (144) 
 
DERIVATION, AND APPEARANCE. 
 
 H5 
 
 and dear to every Spanish- American epicure, known 
 as tamals. " Tamal-pais" may possibly mean simply 
 " tamal country," or as we would say, "the country 
 of tamals" from somebody having in early days pro- 
 duced tamals there. Tamales — or Tomales — Bay, 
 lying - in the rear of Mount Tamalpais, on the ocean 
 side, helps to give a color of probability to this pro- 
 posed solution of the question. However that may 
 be, the mountain has been known as Tamalpais 
 since the time when the memory of man runneth 
 not to the contrary, and it may be after all merely 
 an Indian name signifying nothing at all, like Ala- 
 bama, Ohio, and Iowa. Quicn sabe ? 
 
 The mountain looks well from any point of view, 
 in summer or in winter; but its outlines seem boldest, 
 and the dim blue haze, which envelops it always, the 
 softest and most beautiful I think, when looked upon 
 from the Bay of San Francisco, or the heights of 
 Telegraph or Russian Hill. It stands in Marin 
 County, or rather \tis Marin County; for take away 
 Tamalpais, and what is left of Marin County would 
 hardly fill a wheelbarrow. 
 
 We three — Dr. Murphy, the eminent physician 
 of San Francisco, Lloyd, the rising young criminal 
 lawyer, and myself — had looked with longing eyes in 
 that direction, even as Moses looked toward the 
 Promised Land, for months and years, and at last 
 the longing to go over there and explore the mysteri- 
 ous fastnesses of the mountain became too great for 
 further repression. We knew that quail, deer, hare, 
 and rabbits abounded there, that deer were often 
 killed there, that California lions had been seen there, 
 
 TO 
 
1^6 TAMALPA16. 
 
 that grizzly bears were numerous there years ago, 
 and as one was never known to die of his own voli- 
 tion and none were known to have ever been killed 
 there, it was a fair inference that they were there 
 still. Were we not all mighty hunters, and was not 
 that a field in which to display talents and accom- 
 plishments such as ours ? The only reflection in 
 connection with our projected trip, which gave us 
 uneasiness, was as to its probable effect on the game 
 market, — a fall in prices which would inevitably ruin 
 all the pothunters in the State and all the wholesale 
 game-dealers in San Francisco being looked upon 
 as a foregone conclusion. We were duly sorry for 
 it, but how could we help it ? 
 
 The Doctor is an ambitious and sanguinary man, 
 his professional experience having given him a taste 
 for blood; and he went in for big game. I don't 
 think he would have discounted the proceeds of that 
 foray at anything less than a grizzly, a pair of Cali- 
 fornia lions, half a dozen wild-cats, and a wagon load 
 of deer ; and I know that he had hopes of hare and 
 small game almost without limit. He was armed 
 with a Henry rifle, five hundred rounds of cartridges, 
 and a butcher-knife with a blade sixteen inches in 
 length. Lloyd took a No. 8 stub and twist double- 
 barrelled gun, — which by rights should have been 
 mounted on a swivel in a boat, or on a raft, — two 
 hundred and fifty Ely's wire cartridges, a bag of B B 
 shot, half a keg of powder, — he hesitated a long 
 time as to whether he should fill up the keg, but 
 finally concluded that in case he run out he could 
 buy more at San Rafael, — and an army size Colt's 
 
OCR START FOR THE MOUNTAIN. i^j 
 
 revolver. I, who am of a more modest and less 
 ambitious turn of mind, took along only a light No. 
 14 double-barrelled gun, which once upon a time 
 had done fearful execution at both ends in the Great 
 Winnebago Swamp in Illinois, a flask of powder, 
 one of shot, and a bottle or two of California wine, 
 which had been boiled to concentrate the strength 
 and save freight. Each had marked out a particular 
 line of destruction for himself to follow, — each one 
 equally confident of achieving a mighty triumph in 
 his way. The pathway of our life is strewn with the 
 wrecks of fond hopes blighted and promises unful- 
 filled ; it pains me to reflect upon the harvest of 
 such wrecks which my most intimate friends were 
 called upon to gather on that ever memorable occa- 
 sion. I doubt if I promised less than one thousand 
 dozen quail, and larger game in proportion ; but I 
 call Heaven to witness that I did so honestly, and 
 with the very best intentions as to fulfilling my en- 
 gagements. It is some consolation to a tax-payer 
 to feel that the pavement of a certain nameless 
 place will not require renewal or repair for many 
 years to come. 
 
 We were to go on horseback, starting at 2 p.m. 
 from San Francisco, on the 2d of September. I 
 rode my old pet, a half-breed mare, Juanita, which 
 the accursed, sneaking Chimahuepis Indians stole 
 from my side as I slept, a year later, on the banks 
 of the Colorado River. Lloyd bestrode a fiery, un- 
 tamed, mouse-colored steed, received from a client 
 subsequently hanged, — he shed no tears over his 
 grave ; and the Doctor galloped on the road to 
 
148 
 
 TAMALPAIS. 
 
 .glory and rencwn on a livery hack warranted to be 
 'just lightning," and better able to make good the 
 warranty than any other four-legged brute on the top 
 of the earth, to the best of my knowledge and belief. 
 From the plaza to the boat-landing — about half a 
 mile — the journey was comparatively uneventful, the 
 Doctor having merely run down an old woman at the 
 crossing of Battery and Washington Streets, while 
 Lloyd's horse, having collided with a passing vehicle, 
 got even by wheeling suddenly and letting fly his 
 heels at me viciously, one hitting the saddle and 
 nearly knocking me out of it, the other making a 
 deep indentation in the barrel of my gun and send- 
 ing it flying some ten feet out of my hand. I killed 
 nobody myself. We disembarked in safety at San 
 Ouentin; many of Lloyd's clients had done the same 
 in years gone by, — the State Prison is located half 
 a mile from that landing. 
 
 Here the trouble began. The Doctor, by reason 
 of his greater age and presumably riper judgment 
 and greater discretion, was entrusted with the trans- 
 portation of the saddle-bags, in which were packed 
 a chicken-luncheon, a lot of ammunition, and a few 
 bottles. He hune them across the back of his 
 saddle, gravely mounted to his seat, grasped his 
 deadly rifle firmly, and gave the signal for the start 
 in a loud clear voice: Vamos ! It was as even a 
 start as I ever saw on a race-track, all three horses 
 bounding about ten feet at the first jump. Mousey, 
 Lloyd's horse, shot a little ahead ; Juanita fol- 
 lowed close on his flank ; and Whitey, the Doc- 
 tor's incomparable mustang, dropped a trifle in the 
 
THE TRIP TO SAN RAFAEL. 
 
 149 
 
 rear. At the end of forty rods there came a sud- 
 den change in the order of the procession. Lloyd's 
 horse had run away with him, and, from sheer force 
 of habit, taken the left-hand road toward the State 
 Prison, instead of the right-hand one leading to San 
 Rafael. The Doctor seeing the mistake called out 
 " No ! no !" at the top of his voice. His intelligent 
 mustang, from an excess of zeal to obey orders, had 
 both ears erect and open, expecting that our speed 
 would not last and the order "whoa" would be 
 given. In the excitement of the moment he mis- 
 took the word, or feared that he might have mis- 
 taken it, and to make a sure thing put out his fore 
 legs, stiff-kneed, which movement by a horse of 
 playful disposition is termed "bucking." Horse and 
 rider in such cases generally find it difficult to con- 
 tinue in company, and so part, as the best of friends 
 sometimes must. That is just what the Doctor and 
 his mustang did, at the moment I turned my head. 
 Following the Doctor something rose gracefully from 
 the rear of the saddle, described a gentle curve in 
 the air, and landed with a loud thud and a sharp 
 jingle on the hard road, a few feet ahead of him. 
 It was the saddle-bags, and the jingle sounded sus- 
 piciously like that of broken glass — which we found 
 no difficulty in ascertaining that it was. Juanita, not 
 caring to run over the Doctor, jumped backward 
 suddenly, and in doing so left me sitting unsup 
 ported in the air. I make it a rule not to war against 
 nature's laws. Those laws say that in such cases 
 one must come down. The ground in that particular 
 locality is very solid, as I ascertained beyond a doubt. 
 
15° 
 
 TAMALPAIS. 
 
 Juanita walked up to the saddle-bags, sniffed at them 
 with distended nostrils and eyes opened wide with 
 horror. Well might she do so ! The escaping fluid 
 made the leather curl up like a burned boot, and as 
 I held them up the liquor ran from them much as 
 you may see it run from a clam fresh dug from the 
 sand. 
 
 A startling thought suggested itself, and I was on 
 the point of dropping them when the Doctor rolled 
 over in the dust and called out, " Oh, never fear ; 
 there ain't going to be a second explosion ; the 
 powder is in a tin case on the other side !" I felt re- 
 assured and com'forted, and proceeded to replace 
 them upon the Doctor's saddle and tie them on. 
 None of the horses appeared to have been seriously 
 hurt. 
 
 The party once more united, we took a fresh start. 
 Whitey, with the Doctor in the saddle, led off this 
 time. Some of the liquor from the saddle-bags 
 oozed out upon his back, and appeared to infuse 
 new spirit into him. He reared up behind, and let 
 out his legs right and left as if feeling for the object 
 which annoyed him, switched his tail and snorted 
 viciously, then bolted for San Rafael as if life or 
 death depended on his reaching there inside of ten 
 minutes and he meant to be there on time. He 
 buckled clown to the work like a woodchuck hunting 
 a new hole, and made every point tell. Occasion- 
 ally his hind legs, getting impatient of the rate of 
 progress made by the fore ones, would make a 
 spasmodic effort to go off on their own hook and 
 take the lead, thereby causing the Doctor to roll 
 
ROUGH RIDING. . - T 
 
 l 5 l 
 
 and pitch like a ship in a cross sea with a head wind. 
 Hut the Doctor is game when his blood is up, and it 
 was at the boiling point just then. Holding the rein 
 and grasping the pommel of the saddle at the same 
 time with one hand, he swung his heavy Henry rifle 
 with the other, bringing it down at every swing with 
 vindictive energy upon the head of the accursed 
 brute, whack! whack! whack! and thus he continued 
 to encourage him all the way to San Rafael, a dis- 
 tance of some three miles. As the wrath of the 
 Doctor rose, so did his pantaloons, the bottoms of 
 which were soon riding in triumph above the tops of 
 his boots, and essaying, with every prospect of suc- 
 cess, a flight above his knees. The Doctor hung to 
 the saddle and the rifle, and allowed minor matters to 
 take their course. Mousey seemed to rather enjoy 
 the situation, and kept close upon Whitey's heels, 
 while Juanita, thinking it was a race for grand cash, 
 went in to win or die. My foot coming in contact 
 with Lloyd's horse was knocked out of the stirrup, 
 and in attempting to replace it, I dropped the rein, 
 which the gun in my hand prevented me from regaining, 
 and I was at sea rudderless and drifting helpless be- 
 fore the storm. A gang of Chinese laborers were 
 cutting a ditch alongside the turnpike, and seeing us 
 coming, they ran up the side of the road, swinging their 
 broad-brimmed bamboo hats, and making the air ring 
 with shouts, beside which the note of the pea- 
 cock on the wall in springtime is as the melody of 
 the spheres. Two stage coaches filled with passen- 
 gers had left the embarcadero ahead of us, bound for 
 
j- 2 TAMALPAIS. 
 
 San Rafael, and as we approached them, the drivers 
 kindly reined the teams out of the track to give us a 
 clear field, while all hands lent us their assistance in 
 the shape of three rousing cheers and a tiger. I am 
 always thankful for human sympathy and encourage- 
 ment, properly expressed and at the proper time, but 
 I would at that moment, had I been consulted, have 
 preferred that the demonstration made by the pas- 
 sengers in those coaches should have been a trifle 
 less ostentatious and energetic, and possibly post- 
 poned altogether for a day or two. I have a dim recol- 
 lection of hearing the Doctor give expression to a wish 
 to see the entire party of them roasting somewhere, 
 and of not feeling shocked thereat, although, as I am 
 bitterly opposed to everything bordering on slang and 
 profanity, I suppose I was in duty bound to feel 
 shocked at his remark ; but I was very busy at the 
 moment, and somehow I did not. I don't think a 
 three-mile race-track was ever got over in less time 
 than it took us to make the run from the embarcadero 
 to San Rafael after the second start. The hospitable 
 citizens of San Rafael saw us coming, with a cloud ol 
 dust spinning out in our wake like the tail of a comet, 
 and with one accord turned out to greet us. They 
 appeared to be apprehensive that we might go right 
 on to the next town without stopping, and to ensure 
 a different result they ranged themselves in a line 
 across the road, brandished hands, arms, hats, and 
 everything else they could lay hold of at the moment, 
 shouting, as with one voice, whoa! Whitey and 
 Mousey "whoaed" so suddenly that their riders were 
 
<—to : \f,',jiflM 
 
 
A I- RES II START. 
 
 1^ 
 
 JO 
 
 enabled to dismount without an effort; but Juanita 
 having naught save her own sweet will to guide ] ie r 
 since 1 had lost the rein, turned aside, went through 
 a picket-fence, caromed on a market- vegetable cart 
 which stood in the held, and went down with a crash 
 which sounded in my sensitive ears like that which 
 will in due time announce the final dissolution of the 
 universe. When I recovered my senses I was sit- 
 ting in a potato -patch, solitary in my glory, like 
 Marius, with the ruins of Carthage around me. Thus 
 we made our triumphal entry into San Rafael. 
 
 We repaired to the hotel, bound up and anointed 
 our smarting wounds, sent out a party to gather in 
 our traps, which had been scattered all along the road, 
 then held a council of war. We did not feel much 
 like going forward, in truth, but then we were ashamed 
 to go back, and advance we must. With much in- 
 quiry and diligent search, we found a native who 
 knew the trail to the top of Tamalpais, and was will- 
 ing, for a consideration, to pilot us there next day. 
 The sum demanded for his services was more than he 
 had honestly earned before in his entire lifetime, but 
 we needed him, and were at his mercy. 
 
 Sunrise saw us all in the saddle. We found that 
 during the night, lumps of the size of acorns, hickory 
 nuts, even black walnuts, had grown on those sad- 
 dles just where we found it most inconvenient to have 
 them, but were forced to grin and bear the infliction 
 as best we might. After a half-mile ride through the 
 fields, we came in sight of a flock of quail running 
 along in the road ahead, and a halt along the entire 
 
j ci TAMALPAIS. 
 
 line was ordered. Lloyd, having the biggest gun, was 
 ordered to dismount and deploy as skirmisher. With 
 trailed shotgun he crept through an acre or two of 
 dusty chaparral, and came to a halt at last on the 
 flank and within twenty yards of the unsuspecting 
 enemy. We saw him rise slowly and deliberately, 
 bring his murderous weapon to bear, take deadly aim 
 — it seemed to us, waiting there in breathless expec- 
 tation, that it took him an hour at least to do it — 
 then discharge both barrels at once. There was a 
 shock and concussion like the explosion of a mine, a 
 deep reverberation rolling away and dying in a 
 thousand echoes in the gorges of the mountain. But 
 the gunner, where was he? Lying prone upon his 
 back in the bushes, kicking up as much dust as is 
 raised by an ordinary threshing machine in full opera- 
 tion, as he kicked right and left in his agony .When 
 he arose at last his upper lip was of the thickness of 
 a fifty-cent sirloin steak, and his nose was bleeding 
 profusely. He ventured the opinion that he must 
 have been stung by hornets while he was down. If 
 such was the case, it was a very unmanly and cow- 
 ardly thing for the hornets to do; that is all I have 
 to say on the subject. When the shot from his gun 
 struck the dust in the road and raised it in a cloud, I 
 looked to see at least a dozen quail lying in the 
 agonies of death in the road, as it subsided. In 
 place thereof I saw the entire covey on the wing for 
 the chaparral higher up on the mountain-side. There 
 were plenty of feathers in the road, however, which 
 showed that he must have startled them considerably. 
 
A KNOWING DOG. 
 
 155 
 
 As next in rank I then took up the fight, and dis- 
 charged both barrels at the flying enemy, as I sat on 
 horseback, Juanita dancing a break-down jig as I did 
 so. One bird came down with a crippled wing, but 
 made tracks for the bushes the moment it touched 
 the ground. Before he reached cover, the Doctor, 
 who represented the artillery, sent half a dozen bul- 
 lets from his Henry rifle whkzing after him, making 
 it very lively indeed for him, but not even knocking 
 out a feather. Just then a ranchero's dog came trot- 
 ting down the road, and calling him to us, I pointed 
 to the clump of chaparral in which the wounded 
 quail had taken refuge, clapping my hands and shout- 
 ing "sic him! sic him!" with all my might at the 
 same time. Thus encouraged, our volunteer corps 
 went in. and to our infinite satisfaction we heard that 
 miserable quail piping like a sick chicken in a 
 moment more. . "We've got him! We've got him!" 
 we shouted in chorus. We were in error aeain; the 
 dog had got him, and a brief observation of his 
 movements satisfied us that he meant to keep him 
 too. The infamous brute absolutely had the audacity 
 to walk out of the bushes with our quail in his mouth, 
 right before our eyes, and refusing with a savage 
 growl to surrender it to me, trot deliberately off down 
 the road, toward the residence of his master. "Here. 
 doggy! Come, doggy! O, the nice doggy! pretty 
 
 persuasive 
 Ids visible 
 
 doggy!" etc., we repeated in the most 
 and endearing accents, only to 
 
 provoke 
 
 contempt, and increase the derisive elevation of his 
 vertebrae and the rate of his speed. What kind of 
 
1 56 
 
 TAMAL1WIS. 
 
 an education must such a doer have had? let me ask 
 in all seriousness. The Doctor could stand it no 
 longer, but drew a bead and let drive a bullet 
 full at his head. The bullet went just wide enough 
 of the mark to accomplish the desired result. Drop- 
 ping the quail with a savage growl he darted off on 
 a run, howling and yelping with the full power of his 
 lungs at every jump. To corral that quail, our first 
 trophy, was the work of a moment. It is safe to 
 say that we lost no time in wringing his neck after 
 our hands were on him. 
 
 Then a change came over the spirit of our dream. 
 Our firing and the subsequent howling of the base, 
 ungrateful cur, had attracted the attention of his baser 
 owner, and he put in an appearance very suddenly 
 and unexpectedly. Flourishing a hayfork threaten- 
 ingly, he demanded to know which thief had been 
 trying to kill his valuable and intelligent "animal." 
 
 Lloyd, who had just concluded the operation of 
 washing his face in a spring, thereby apparently re- 
 peating the miracle of Cana, feeling that this was 
 adding insult to injury, volunteered in clear and forci- 
 ble language to "put a head on him," then and there, 
 in three seconds, if he "would just lay down that 
 pitchfork." "If the head you would put on me 
 would resemble the one you carry around, I would 
 sooner be shot down dead on the spot, and be out 
 of misery at once, than take it! You look as if 
 you were in the murder line, anyhow, and perhaps 
 you might as well go right on with your infamous 
 work as it is!" was the delicate and gentleman 1 y 
 
UP THE MOUNT A IX. l ry 
 
 reply of the irate tiller of the soil. We — the Doctor 
 and myself — argued the case more temperately, and 
 eventually the aggrieved owner of that lop-eared cur 
 became so far mollified as to accept of a drink from 
 the bottle of new whisky, which we had procured 
 at San Rafael, after our first disaster on the road. 
 When he took the bottle from his lips, his eyes were 
 full of tears, his lips were purple, and he gasped con- 
 vulsively for breath. We felt that we were avenged, 
 and, remounting, rode silently away up the trail, 
 carrying our dead and wounded with us. 
 
 Out of the dusty carriage-road, at last we entered 
 the narrow bridle-trail, which winds up the steep 
 mountain-side, through the rocky malpais, covered 
 with wide fields of the bitter chcmisal, which spreads 
 over the whole upper part of the mountain. This 
 bitter shrub, of the leaves of which no livincr creature 
 will eat, grows only on ground which will support 
 nothing else, and is worthless for every purpose save 
 that of holding the earth together. The sun was 
 well up in the heavens and the air growing oppres- 
 sively warm, when we passed above the timbered 
 belt, and entered this chemisal country. We halted 
 and looked back. In the southeast, San Francisco, 
 lying overstretched, a tawny giant upon the gray 
 hills of the peninsula, showed dimly through the 
 veil of yellow dust, dun-colored smoke, and thin, lu- 
 minous vapor which overhung it. Down to the south- 
 ward, almost at our feet, lay the Golden Gate, the 
 Presidio of San Francisco, and the straits leading up 
 from the ocean to the Bay of San Francisco, with the 
 
j eg TAMALPAIS. 
 
 rock fortress of Alcatraz presenting its tier above tier 
 of black cannon, standing like the sentinel at the gate- 
 way, keeping grim watch and ward at the western 
 portal of a mighty land. A huge, black- hulled steamer 
 was heading out through the Golden Gate into the 
 blue Pacific, bound for the Columbia, Victoria, Mexico, 
 Panama, or possibly to far-off lands on the oiher edge 
 of the world, beyond our western horizon. White sails 
 gleamed here and there over the whole Bay of San 
 Francisco, and over its broad surface white-hulled ferry 
 and river steamers could be seen plowing their way. 
 The Bay of San Pablo was a duck-pond at our feet — 
 the Straits of Carquinez dwindling away to a mere 
 silver thread in the distance — and the Bay of Suisun 
 only a whitey-brown patch in the landscape farther 
 north. Oakland, and all her sister towns along the 
 eastern shore of the Bay of San Francisco, looked out 
 here and there from the midst of embowering trees. 
 Mount Diablo, clad in garments of dun and straw color, 
 rose high into the blue sky on the eastward, seeming 
 to ascend as we ascended, and grow taller and more 
 giganric at every step ; following us up, as it were, 
 and bullying us as we went, as if determined that we 
 should not be permitted to look down upon him nor 
 receive a diminished idea of his importance. North- 
 ward and northeastward, stretching out leagues on 
 leagues from his base, were the wide, dark tulc swamps, 
 and half-submerged islands of the Sacramento and 
 San Joaquin, bordered by bright, straw-colored val- 
 leys, stretching away to the point where the dark green 
 line ot the summits of the Sierra Nevada melted into 
 
A FINE PICTURE. jrg 
 
 and blended with the blue cloudless sky of autumn, 
 upon the farther verge of the horizon. We looked 
 down upon the homes of two hundred thousand toil- 
 ing - , active and busy people. The homes of millions 
 of happy, contented, abundantly blessed people, will 
 in a few years fill that broad land on which we gazed 
 with deep and silent admiration that morning. If I 
 were a painter, I would unroll my canvas at that 
 point, and paint you such a picture as you should 
 stand before and gaze upon with unspeakable delight 
 from morn to night. I am not — more is the pity ! 
 For half an hour the glorious scene held us enchanted; 
 then the destructive element in our nature asserted its 
 supremacy again, and we began to talk of deeds of 
 blood once more. 
 
 " Manuel, when we engaged you as our guide, you 
 promised on the honor of a descendant of conquering 
 Castile, and the faith of a Christiana, to show us at 
 least the track of a grizzly bear! Do it !" 
 
 Manuel, with a brow slightly clouded, arose slowly, 
 mounted his horse a little hesitatingly, and led us on- 
 ward up the steep acclivity. Half a mile brought us 
 to a saddle-back, on one side of which there was a 
 narrow grass-plat. Looking carefully along the other 
 side, among the chcmisal, broken rocks, and coarse 
 gravelly soil, he discovered at length a track, at which 
 he pointed in silent triumph. A painter desiring to 
 catch the smile of benign ecstacy which illumined 
 the countenance of the beloved disciple, would have 
 found fame and fortune in the face of Manuel at that 
 moment, had he the talent to catch the expression, 
 
j 5q TAMAT.PAIb. 
 
 transcribe it faithfully, and hand it down to a devout 
 and admiring posterity. Few and short were the 
 words we spoke. The Doctor, with countenance 
 grave and stern, refilled the magazine of his rifle with 
 cartridges, and borrowed Lloyd's revolver. When I 
 make my appearance upon the boards in the great 
 character of "William Tell," I shall recall to mind 
 the attitude and expression of the Doctor at that mo- 
 ment ; and with such a model have never a fear but 
 that the gods in the gallery will bestow their applause 
 until the roof rings again. Lloyd took up a position 
 immediately in rear of the Doctor, with his teeth firm 
 set, and his double-barreled No. 8 stub- and- twist 
 grasped pretty firmly in both hands. For myself, I 
 determined that, come what might, I would not see 
 the poor horses victimized for our folly, and I would 
 stay by them, and get them out of danger as quickly 
 at their legs could carry them, on the first appearance 
 of the infuriated grizzly. One of the most prominent 
 features of my character has ever been a certain 
 watchful forethought, which would have made me 
 invaluable as the commander of an army. Had I 
 commanded at Bull Run — but then, I did not command 
 at Bull Run, and the history of that unfortunate affair 
 has already been written ! 
 
 As I was proceeding to mount and ride off with 
 the horses, I chanced to look at the bear track, where 
 it crossed the soft bit of grassy ground on the side of 
 the hog-back, opposite where Manuel had pointed it 
 out in the hard, rocky soil ; and with the bluntness of 
 an impulsive and ingenuous nature, thoughtlessly re- 
 
A N IRON-SHOD BEAR. l 5 } 
 
 marked that the Tamalpais grizzlies had the good 
 sense to follow the example of the horses thereabouts, 
 and wear sharp heel-corks. The Doctor heard the 
 remark, and coming back to where I stood, examined 
 the track carefully. I heard him utter something in a 
 deep undertone, which I am sure was not an invoca- 
 tion of the blessing on the head of that descendant 
 of the old Castilians. Manuel's quick ears caught it, and 
 with an expression of general disgust as he looked at the 
 whole party, and a glance of malignant hate at me, he 
 turned his horse's head toward the summit of the mount- 
 ain, and rode off without a word. For the next half hour 
 no one of us spoke a word — out hearts were two full. 
 Two miles more of hard climbing, the sweat pour- 
 ing in streams off our panting horses, brought us 
 to a little secluded flat, in a narrow canon but a 
 short distance below the summit. There is a fine 
 spring of pure, cold water there, and a number of 
 huge, old oaks, gray with the long, trailing moss, 
 which is nourished by the abundant moisture con- 
 densed upon it daily from the dense sea fogs which 
 roll up over the summit at brief intervals all the year 
 round. Here we unpacked our traps, uncinched and 
 picketed out our tired horses, and prepared for a long 
 and vigorous campaign. The quails, driven up the 
 mountain from all the valleys below by the incessant 
 raids of the pot-hunters, fairly swarmed in this canon, 
 having found it a safe haven of refuge up to this time 
 t.hat season. We killed several and badly frightened 
 a considerably greater number. Then we spread our 
 table and lunched gloriously. 
 
j 5 2 TAMALPAIS. 
 
 Alter lunch, we went over the ground once more, 
 bagging a few more quail, and then climbed to the 
 summit of the mountain and looked down on the blue, 
 illimitable Pacific ; that is to say, we looked down the 
 steep western slope of the mountain in the direction 
 where the blue, illimitable Pacific was, and still is, and 
 probably always will be, located, and would have seen 
 it had it not been hidden beneath a bank of snow- 
 white fog, as solid and impenetrable to the eye as the 
 mountain itself. We could hear the incessant moan- 
 ing of the sea, as it dashed its waves on the rock- 
 bound coast beneath us, but that was all. The bay 
 where the chivalrous old filibuster and pirate Sir 
 Francis Drake moored his fleet some centuries ago, 
 and from whence he sailed some weeks later, without 
 an idea of the existence of the grand Bay of San Fran- 
 cisco and the glorious country of which the Golden 
 Gate, right under his long, sharp, rakish nose, is the 
 portal, was just below us on the northwest, but it 
 might as well have been a thousand miles away. Point 
 Lobos and Point Bonita were invisible, and the Far- 
 rallones were buried countless fathoms deep beneath 
 the fog-bank. All was an utter blank from a point a 
 thousand feet beneath us. Even as we gazed upon 
 it, the bosom of the snowy fog- bank heaved and 
 rocked at the touch of the rising gale ; then the whole 
 vast fleecy mass moved inward upon the land, and 
 silently, but with the speed of thought, and apparently 
 with irresistible force, came rushing like a mighty ava- 
 lanche up the slope of the mountain toward the summit 
 on which we stood. "We shall see nothing, and 
 
THE FOG BELL, r 5 - 
 
 may lose our way in the mist , let us vamos; and we 
 vamosed. 
 
 As we turned our steps to the eastward and passed 
 over the crest of the mountain again, we saw the mist 
 moving up through the Golden Gate, and rolling over 
 the island of Alcatraz, which in a moment was en- 
 veloped and hidden from sight. As the island dis- 
 appeared, the low, mournful voice of the tolling fog- 
 bell came faintly but distinctly to our ears, borne on 
 the soft, moist air. B-o-o-m! b-o-o-m! b-o-o-m! a 
 throbbing pulsation of sound, always inexpressibly 
 painful for me to listen to, and I have heard it thou- 
 sands of times. A San Francisco poet has beauti- 
 fully expressed in the following lines the thoughts 
 awakened by night — and by day as well — not in his 
 mind alone, by the voice of 
 
 THE FOG BELL OF ALCATRAZ. 
 
 O weary warden, that o'er sea and marches 
 
 Monotonously calls 
 Thy challenge to the foe, whose stealthy marches 
 Invest the city walls. 
 
 Thy voice of warning far and wide diverges, 
 
 Thrilling the midnight air ; 
 Yet in thy tower, above the rocking surges, 
 
 Thou dost not heed, nor care. 
 
 Thou readest not the message of thy bringing ; 
 
 Thou do^t not know the weight 
 Of that which in thy little are forever swinging, 
 
 Thou dost reiterate. 
 
 Thou heedest not the text, whose repetition 
 
 Makes :he dark night more drear; 
 Thou fill 'st the world with formal admonition — • 
 
 Rut show'st no sky more clear ! 
 
j 5 , TAMALrAIS. 
 
 Thou see'st not the binnacle light that glistens 
 
 Upon the slippery deck ; 
 Thou markest not the mariner who listens ; 
 
 Thou see'st not the wreck. 
 
 Vain is thy challenge — vain thy admonition — 
 
 To all who hear or pass ; 
 Having not Love nor l'ity — thy condition 
 
 Is brt " as sounding brass." 
 
 O formal Dervish ! rocking in thy tower, 
 
 That looks across the deep, 
 Cry, O Muezzin, "God is God!" each hour — 
 
 But let believers sleep. 
 
 Thou hast the word, O too insensate preacher, 
 
 But having nought beyond, 
 The fate thou criest, and thyself the teacher, 
 
 Alike by man are shunned. 
 
 We listened some minutes to the steady, monoto- 
 nous, and mournful pealing of the fog-bell, then hur- 
 riedly retraced our steps to the canon in which we 
 had left our guide and the horses. The horses were 
 all right ; but the guide lay stretched at full length 
 upon the ground, motionless and rigid as the Cardiff 
 giant. We were by his side in a moment. "Asleep!" 
 said Lloyd. "Dead!" suggested the Doctor. "In a 
 lit!" hazarded your humble servant. He was drunk 
 — simply, but terribly drunk — our bottle lying empty 
 beside him, and our hearts were unutterably sad and 
 full, aye, even slopping over — of bitterness. We 
 found a flat rock of suitable proportions, and erected 
 it, with an appropriate inscription, scrawled with the 
 end of a burned stick, as a tombstone at his head ; 
 placed another at his feet, inserted a soft boulder under 
 his head as a pillow, laid two smaller ones gently on 
 his eyes, and rode away in sorrow and in silence. 
 
BLANK VERSE. j £ - 
 
 That faithless watcher had told us before we left 
 him to ascend to the summit, that a trail led back 
 along a winding ridge and through a timbered coun- 
 try, and so down the mountain by the way of La- 
 gunitas, a lumber-camp near the foot, and advised us 
 to return that way. We started to carry out his pro- 
 gramme without him. After we had ridden a short 
 distance, alone pigeon perched upon the top limb of a 
 dead tree attracted our attention, and all firing at once, 
 we brought him lifeless to the ground ; then indulged in 
 an animated and somewhat acrimonious discussion as 
 to who fired the fatal shot, until the fog -drift was 
 upon us. We rode along the ridge a mile or two in 
 the dense, salt fog, until our clothing was drenched 
 as if from a thunder shower, and we all smelled like 
 so many Point Lobos mussels, while water streamed 
 out of the barrels of our guns, whenever we turned 
 them muzzle downward. "This is poetry condensed!" 
 I had exclaimed enthusiastically, as we looked down 
 in delight upon the scene spread out before us, as we 
 ascended the eastern slope of the mountain. "I'll be 
 blamed if this is not prose! " said the Doctor, as he 
 gazed ruefully at the approaching fog-bank which 
 shut us out from the sight of everything on the west 
 from the summit of the mountain. "This is blank 
 verse!" cried Lloyd, as he now swept the drops of 
 gathered moisture from his face in a shower, and 
 mopped himself industriously with his dripping hand- 
 kerchief. 
 
 Suddenly we emerged from the cloud, and found 
 ourselves below and outside of it, and in the sunshine 
 
1 66 
 
 TAMALPAIS. 
 
 acfain. We halted and gave three cheers. We were 
 out of the woods, and out of the fog, and five quails 
 ahead. The fullness of our high hopes of the morn- 
 ing had fallen something short of realization, it is 
 true, but we had got "a starter" nevertheless, and 
 still had before us some hours in which to retrieve the 
 fortunes of the day. 
 
 We went on down the steep declivity a mile or 
 more ; then came upon the edge of one still more pre- 
 cipitous, and looked down into a narrow, romantic 
 cafion, at the bottom of which is Lagunita. Descending 
 this precipice, our horses occupied something the po- 
 sition of red squirrels coming down the side of a barn. 
 My horse being at the rear, had his nose projected far 
 over the back of Lloyd's, and his in turn was tele- 
 scoped — so to speak^over the Doctor's. I had al- 
 ways an inquiring mind, and a tendency toward ex- 
 periments. I had a sharp stick in my hand, and 
 inserted it playfully under the portion of Lloyd's horse 
 nearest me. The experiment was an eminent success. 
 Mousey, by way of passing on the compliment, seized 
 Whitey by the rump, and gave him a nip that 
 brought away the fur by the handful. Whitey having 
 nothing before him to get even on, whirled half 
 round, at the risk of his rider's neck, and went for 
 his assailant "for all there was in sight." Mousey 
 lifted his heels, and my horse caught the full force of 
 the shock. Things rattled, and the air for the mo- 
 ment was blue with cursing. When order was at 
 last restored, we rode on in sulky silence. They 
 were mad, and gave me no credit whatever for good 
 
MORE GAME. jg- 
 
 intentions. I felt hurt. We reached and passed the 
 saw- mills and hamlet at Lagunitas, and soon came to 
 where the road forked. Falling carelessly behind, I 
 watched my opportunity and quietly gave them the 
 slip, turning off down one trail while they went the 
 other. In the next mile's ride, I bagged two more 
 quail. Then I came upon a little lustrous-eyed, 
 white-toothed Mexican boy in a canon, who was out 
 with a bow and arrow, going the rounds to look at his 
 quail-traps. He had several quail, and I acquired 
 them. Then I rode on with him, chatting on various 
 subjects, while we visited all his traps. He had lived 
 some years in sight, and almost within hearing of the 
 bells of the great city of the Pacific Coast, and had 
 never been in it in his life. I told him what I could of 
 its wonders, and when we parted company I was four 
 bits out in coin, but had seven good, healthy quails 
 to show for my work. I went on down toward the 
 coast, where the quails had been less harassed by 
 hunters, and coming upon several large coveys, 
 swelled my game-bag considerably by well directed 
 shots. I also got a snap-shot at a fine, large Cali- 
 fornia hare, and corralled him. When the sun went 
 down and evening stole over the land, I rode triumph- 
 antly into San Rafael with twenty-three quails in my 
 game-bag and a hare slung behind my saddle. I was 
 "happy and content as one of Swimley's boarders," 
 and felt that I was the champion shootist of the party. 
 Alas! not so. There is no limit to the duplicity 
 and deceit of human nature. Lloyd and the Doctor 
 heard my story in silence ; saw me unpack my game, 
 
j 53 TAMALPAIS. 
 
 and display it with honest pride, with an expression of 
 contempt upon their faces ; then led the way exult- 
 ingly to where their game was hanging. There were 
 exactly twelve dozen quails, tied neatly in bunches of 
 two dozen each, hanging on the wall. I was stag- 
 gered. After examining them closely, I remarked 
 that I had never seen so great a quantity of game 
 killed with so slight an expenditure of ammunition — 
 there was not a shot-mark to be found on any bird 
 in the entire lot so far as I could see ; and nearly 
 every one had his neck dislocated, or head crushed 
 in. Travelers, according to popular opinion, are in- 
 clined to exaggeration, and will sometimes indulge in 
 something very like outright falsehood, when the 
 truth would fall short of creating the desired sensa- 
 tion. From my youth up I have been a hunter, and 
 association with sportsmen and travelers has had a 
 tendency to fill my mind with suspicion and doubt, as 
 to the genuineness of trophies of the chase exhibited 
 as the result of hunting expeditions, and the entire reli- 
 ableness of travelers' tales. When Gordon Gumming 
 returns to Europe, from a raid on the game of South 
 Africa, it is a notorious fact that it is next to impossible 
 to find any first-rate lion-skins, leopard-skins, or ele- 
 phant-tusks of extra large size for sale in the markets 
 of Cape Town and Natal. In our own country, unscru- 
 pulous parties have not unfrequently brought obloquy 
 upon the entire fraternity, by returning from a hunt 
 with more game than they could possibly have shot 
 within the number of hours they were out, even if the 
 game had been ranged before them in platoons, and 
 
OFF FOR SAN QUENTM. j fig 
 
 they had nothing to do but to load and fire from 
 morning to nicrht. This is all \vron£, and I took oc- 
 casion to say as much — in a spirit of pure kindness, 
 and more in sorrow than in anger — to my companions 
 and a few spectators at this time. Did I receive any 
 thanks for my disinterested and gratuitous advice ? 
 Far from it ; I got abuse and gross personalities in- 
 stead. Such is human nature! I replied feelingly. 
 I was tired and sore, and possibly a little irritable ; 
 but I solemnly affirm that I never said that I could 
 whip any man in the company. I am no prize- 
 fighter ; why should I ? As to the San Rafaelite 
 who interfered, I consider him wholly inexcusable ; and 
 so far as he is concerned, am not sorry for what he 
 got for his pains. It is an unpleasant subject, and I 
 dislike to pursue it any further. 
 
 Next morninof we were in the saddle a^fain at cicrlit 
 o'clock, having despatched our game and firearms by 
 the express to San Francisco, and ran our horses at 
 the dead jump all the way to San Ouentin, arriving 
 just in time to get on board the boat for the city. As 
 the boat glided away down the Bay, we looked back 
 from its deck and saw the mountain standing out 
 bold and free from cloud or fogf in the bright morning 
 sunlight, and bitterly thought of the experience of 
 yesterday. 
 
 Thus, truthfully and dispassionately, after the lapse 
 of months, have I written up this history of our great 
 hunting, fishing, and warlike expedition to Tamalpais. 
 As I have already remarked, Tamalpais is one of the 
 finest of the lesser mountains of California ; an at* 
 
j y Q TAMALPAIS. 
 
 tractive mountain to look at from Russian or Tele- 
 graph Hill. It is there all the time. You may see 
 it any day ; and you may have it all for me. The 
 experiences of that trip disgusted me with it for all 
 time, and I go there no more. Adios, Tamalpais ! 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 NAPA VALLEY AND MT. ST. HELENA. 
 
 From San Francisco to Vallejo. — What we Saw while Crossing the Bay of San 
 Pablo. — The Valley of Napa. — A Moonlight Evening in the Mountains. — 
 Calistoga by Moonlight and Sunlight. — The Baths. — Hot Chicken-Soup 
 Spring. — The Petrified Forest of Calistoga. — The Great Ranch and Vine- 
 yards. — Ascent of Mount St. Helena. — What we Saw from the Summit. — 
 Reminiscences of the Flood. — Story of the Judge and the Stranger. — " Pres- 
 ently, sir, presently I" — Good Joke on the Robbers. — What happened to Me 
 in Arizona. — A Good Story, but too Appreciative an Audience. 
 
 A soft September afternoon ; cloudless, warm, 
 quiet, hardly a breath or breeze to ruffle the Bay of 
 San Francisco. The summer winds, the curse of 
 San Francisco, have died out, and one can enjoy life 
 once more in the immediate vicinity of the metropolis 
 of the Pacific. Brown, and looking as old as the 
 hills on which she stands, is San Francisco, the won- 
 derful city of a day, in her russet coat of summer 
 dust, as we look back at her from the steamer's deck. 
 Straw color, mauve, and ashes of roses, are the tints 
 displayed by all the mountains around the Bay, save 
 old Tamalpais, who, clad in royal purple, looks 
 grandly down upon us on the westward as our 
 steamer glides swiftly past frowning Alcatraz, Angel 
 Island and the Red Rock, the Dos Hermanos and 
 the Dos Hermanas (Two Brothers and Two Sisters, 
 
 (17O 
 
172 
 
 SCENES FROM THE BAY. 
 
 curious round rocks rising from the bosom of the 
 Bay), and glide into the Bay of San Pablo, with the 
 pretty old town of San Pablo peeping out from be- 
 neath the evergreen live oaks, and exotic shade 
 trees, on the Contra Costa shore on the right, and 
 San Quentin, with its gloomy State Prison, on the 
 Marin county shore on the left; and beyond, nestled 
 in a little valley away up under the dark shadow of 
 Tamalpais, the picturesque village of San Rafael, a 
 noted health-resort for San Franciscans. Through 
 the Bay of San Pablo, past Mare Island, with its 
 navy-yard and barracks, our steamer moves, and 
 turning abruptly northward, just as we catch a glimpse 
 of the straits of Carquinez, opening eastward towards 
 Martinez and Benicia, rounds to at the railroad wharf 
 at Vallejo, some thirty miles from San Francisco. 
 We saw two schools of porpoises playing in the 
 waters of San Pablo Bay; thousands of pelicans and 
 shags crowding the rocks at the Dos Hermanos, a 
 number of huge fish, sturgeon or salmon, or both, 
 leaping bodily out of the smooth waters; and a 
 remarkably pretty girl, Spanish- American we judge, 
 among the numerous passengers upon the steamer, as 
 we came along. Masculine and human, we paid 
 comparatively little attention to the birds and fishes. 
 Vallejo, a large, straggling, ambitious village, stand- 
 ing where a city, like one of those which cluster around 
 New York, may stand years hence, claims and receives 
 but a passing glance, and we are on board the cars, 
 gliding swiftly northward, out of the reach of the 
 cool ocean breezes, and into one of the fairest valleys 
 
A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE. jy- 
 
 that ever the sun shone on, Napa. At the lower end 
 of this valley we pass through the thriving, prosper- 
 ous-looking, young city of Napa, with its grain ware- 
 houses on the banks of a navigable creek, and vessels* 
 masts showing over the housetops, as in Chicago. 
 The streets are wide, and the houses, which have a 
 neat and homelike Eastern air, are surrounded with 
 blooming gardens and orchards, laden with red and 
 golden fruit, and vines borne down to the very earth 
 with luscious white, flame-colored, and purple grapes. 
 Napa looks an attractive place for a quiet home, and 
 such its people consider it. 
 
 The sun has gone down in the purple west, and 
 the full, round autumn moon climbs the Eastern hori- 
 zon as we glide away northwards through the valley 
 of Napa. The still, pure air is illuminated by the rays 
 of the moon to an extent hardly to be credited in less 
 favored lands beyond the Rocky Mountains; and tree .-., 
 rocks, houses, vineyards, orchards and shadowy mount- 
 ains stand out clear and distinct ; every object within a 
 range of many miles is seen almost as if by daylight. 
 The valley is one wide, yellow stubble-field, only 
 broken by patches of vineyard, long banks of grain 
 in sacks, piled up in the fields, and left uncovered for 
 months with perfect impunity in this rainless season; 
 huge stacks of straw and hay, pressed into bales for the 
 market, and white farm-houses, many of them very 
 costly, indicating the possession of wealth and taste by 
 their proprietors. At intervals we pass through nat- 
 ural parks, where the mighty live-oaks are scattered 
 through the whole broad valley, like apple trees in an 
 
T -,. NAPA VALLEY. 
 
 orchard. The mountains on either side of the valley 
 grow more abrupt and rugged as we advance north- 
 wards. The deep green chcmisal covers their sides, 
 save where they are patched with vineyards, or the 
 white lavatic rock beneath is laid bare by long, winding 
 wagon-roads and bridle-trails, leading over them into 
 minor valleys beyond. 
 
 By our faith, it is a glorious land. 
 
 Oh, Christ ! it is a goodly sight to see 
 
 What Heaven has done for this delicious land I 
 
 What fruits of fragrance blush on every tree — 
 What glorious prospects o'er the hills expand 1 
 
 We gaze upon the swiftly-passing panorama for an 
 hour in silence, and then to turn our companion on 
 the next seat. 
 
 "Charley, did you ever see anything more beautiful 
 in your life? " 
 
 "Beautiful! magnificent! gorgeous! sublime! Our 
 language has no fitting terms for it. Why her eyes 
 would have driven Mohammed mad — her teeth are 
 bands of pearls, and her blue-black hair would shame-" 
 
 Twas ever thus ! We might have known it from 
 the start. That Spanish girl has set him as mad as a 
 March hare. Well, well, we too were young once ; 
 and come to think of it to-night, it don't seem such 
 a very long time ago either. 
 
 The bell has been rung, and the name of the station 
 called for the last time, and a long-drawn, exultant 
 whistle from the locomotive startles Charley at last 
 from his dream of Paradise and " the black-eyed girls 
 in crrcen," as it announces our arrival at Calisto<ra. 
 
CALISTOGA. j j - 
 
 Declining the proffered carriage, we walk down a wide 
 avenue into the hotel grounds, see rows of neat 
 cottages stretching away on either hand, with families 
 and groups lounging on the piazzas, telling stories, 
 singing, and mayhap love-making in the moonlight — ■ 
 enter the hotel, dine sumptuously — washing down our 
 broiled chicken, trout and quail with the rich, fruity- 
 red wine of Calistoga; and finally, well pleased with 
 the world, ourselves, and mankind in general, retire 
 to our cottage, disrobe, draw the drapery of our couch 
 around us, and lie down to pleasant dreams. 
 
 The noise of wheels rattling swiftly over the gravel 
 walks, horses galloping away to the mountains ; then 
 the loud clanofor of the hotel bell, and the lonof-drawn 
 whistle of the locomotive, awaken us betimes in the 
 morning. The sun is already high above the green- 
 clad, rock- capped, rugged mountains on the eastern side 
 of the valley, when we came out upon the piazza to take 
 our first daylight view of Calistoga. It is glorious ! 
 Eastward, a long range of mountains, fantastic in form, 
 abrupt and rugged, skirts the whole horizon. A long 
 mesa, bench, or table, on the summit shows where the 
 great river of lava flowed away from the crater south- 
 ward towards the Bay of Suisun ages ago. Northward 
 rises, majestically bold and beautiful, Mt. St. Helena, 
 cutting ofi the valley in that direction. The foot-hills 
 and sides of this mountain are green in spring time 
 and early summer, and golden later in the year, with 
 the rank growth of wild oats, which covers the whole 
 face of the country where the plow has not disturbed 
 the soil, up to the point where the old lava -flow 
 
17 5 NAPA VALLEY. 
 
 covers all the soil and leaves no room for vegetation. 
 All the lower valley lands are dotted with huge oaks, 
 with pensile limbs like trailing grape-vines, which 
 fairly sweep the ground, and often loaded with green- 
 ish-gray moss, which gives the landscape such an as- 
 pect as that of the lowland country of Texas and 
 Louisiana, where the Creole-moss abounds. Higher 
 up, the pines and redwoods bristle on every height, 
 and fill every canon, imparting a sombre grandeur to 
 the scene. Westward, a range of foot-hills, densely 
 covered with oak, manzanita, and the peerless ma- 
 drono, skirt the valley ; and back of them, farther to- 
 wards the ocean, towers a higher mountain range, 
 breaking the sea breeze, and shielding the valley from 
 the chill ocean fogs, the terror of visitors to San Fran- 
 cisco. Before us, at the foot of a conical hill, covered 
 with grapevines, flowering shrubs and magueys (the 
 "century plant" of Eastern hot-houses), and sur- 
 mounted with an oriental summer-house, is the plain 
 hotel building; and running around the grand rise 
 which encircles "Mount Lincoln," is a row of neat 
 cottages, each with its large yard filled with flowers 
 and thrifty-growing palm-trees in front. Over to the 
 southeast of the hotel stands a large structure, from 
 the doors and windows of which steam is escaping. 
 This is the great swimming-bath house. From many 
 points along the level ground in that direction steam 
 rises from the black earth, and a small creek of hot 
 water, gathered from many sources, runs away through 
 a deep, wide ditch. Mud baths, steam baths, shower 
 baths, sulphur baths, and every kind of bath, in fact, 
 
Cff/CA'EA ' BRO TIL j - - 
 
 are here provided for by nature — only the houses for 
 hiding the bathers from general observation being a 
 work of art. Centuries ago, the unlettered Indians 
 of the Pacific coast were accustomed to resort here to 
 soak away rheumatism and the many ills which abo- 
 riginal flesh is heir to, by wallowing in the hot, black, 
 sulphurous mud, which boiled and bubbled like the 
 witches' broth in infernal cauldrons. Wide grain fields, 
 trim vineyards, and tea plantations spread away in all 
 directions from the hamlet which surrounds the hotel. 
 The proprietor of all this magnificent — I may say 
 p/incely — estate of Calistoga, is Samuel Brannan, one 
 of the most enterprising of the early business men of 
 the Pacific coast. He has recently disposed of all 
 his productive property in the heart of San Francisco, 
 and come here to make his homeland devote the au- 
 tumn of life to building up as a monument of his 
 energy, taste and public spirit, the great health and 
 pleasure resort of California. The soil is wonderfully 
 productive; the air in autumn, winter, and early spring 
 pure and bracing; in summer tropical; the mountains 
 round about are filled with attractions for the tourist 
 and pleasure-seeker, and altogether Calistoga is one 
 of the pet institutions of California. Just across the 
 way from the hotel piazza is a little house, enclosing a 
 spring of peculiar character. The water is clear as 
 crystal, scalding hot, and impregnated with mineral 
 substances of wonderfully health-restoring properties. 
 A dash of salt and pepper causes a bowl of it to be- 
 come, so far as sight, taste and smell can distinguish, 
 the exact counterpart of fresh chicken broth. Many 
 
I7 g AAPA VALLEY. 
 
 an invalid has swallowed a bowlful of it with keen 
 relish, and then learned with indignant surprise that 
 the soup was cooked in the reeking kitchen of his 
 Satanic Majesty down deep in the bowels of the earth, 
 and was as innocent of any contact with even the 
 shadow of terrestrial chicken as any you could obtain 
 at the best hotel in Saratoga, or the most fashionable 
 boarding-house in New York. An iron pipe has been 
 driven down deep into the earth at this point, and on 
 letting down some fresh eggs in an open-work wire 
 caee through the tube, vou can have them hard boiled 
 in Nature's kettle inside of three minutes. 
 
 In front of the hotel stands a curious rude grotto or 
 summer-house, apparently composed wholly of short 
 sections of tree-trunks, unhewn and rough, placed 
 endwise one upon another. A closer inspection re- 
 veals the fact that the trees from which these sections 
 were broken were of solid stone. Ages and ages ago 
 there stood upon the summit of one of the mountain 
 ridges on the west of the valley, some seven miles 
 from the present site of Calistoga, a grove of great 
 redwood trees, which, by some process of nature, 
 became changed into stone, more enduring and perma- 
 nent than the " everlasting hills" themselves. For 
 years the fact of the existence of this phenomenon 
 was unknown to the residents of the vicinity, the 
 thick chapparal effectually hiding the fallen trunks 
 from view. In 1870, one of the terribly destructive 
 fires which sweep over the mountains of California 
 and Oregon year after year, laid bare the summit 
 of this hill range, and the ground was found strewn 
 
THE PETRIFIED FOREST, j y Q 
 
 with the petrified trunks of giant trees, at intervals for 
 several miles. This locality is now the subject of 
 much curious investigation, and the origin of the "Pet- 
 rifted Forest of Calistoga" has been speculated upon 
 learnedly by many scientists. The wood retains its 
 grain perfectly, no difficulty being found in counting 
 the consecutive rings supposed to indicate the years 
 of growth of each fallen giant of the forest. The 
 color is a whitey-brown, and there are occasional lay- 
 ers of clear white quartz in small crystals, apparently 
 the result of water deposits. Evidences of remote 
 volcanic action abound in the vicinity, the whole sur- 
 face of the ground being composed, in fact, of tufa, 
 ashes, and coarse, broken sandstone, mixed with meta- 
 morphic rock, ascribed to the cretaceous age, and 
 indicating disturbance by severe earthquakes or vol- 
 canic convulsions of a comparatively recent date. None 
 of the trees are perfect — only the trunks and main 
 roots appearing to have been petrified — and all are ly- 
 ing flat upon the ground, or half buried in it, scattered 
 and broken, as if blown down by a sudden gale or 
 whirlwind. Some of the trunks are from fifty to seven- 
 ty-live feet in length, and nearly perfect, and others 
 mere stumps and fragments, from ten to thirty feet 
 long. Tourists visit the locality almost daily, and 
 sample the trees so freely that a few years will suffice 
 to obliterate all traces of the now famous grove. The 
 stone takes a fine polish, and is much prized for seal- 
 rings and jewelry. 
 
 Professor Marsh, of Yale College, who examined 
 the petrifaction, on the ground, in 1870, came to the 
 
t SO NAPA VALLEY. 
 
 conclusion that the trees had first been overthrown by 
 earthquake force, and buried beneath the debris from 
 some ancient eruption of Mount St. Helena, the sum- 
 mit of which is fully ten miles distant in a northeastern 
 direction on the other side of the valley; then petri- 
 fied by the action of acids contained in these volcanic 
 deposits, and in the lapse of time again uncovered by 
 the wearing away of the overlaying tufa by the action 
 of the rains and storms. There are grave difficulties 
 in the way of the acceptance of this theory. The 
 locality is situated at an elevation of not less than 
 2,000 feet above the sea, and from 1,000 to 1,200 
 feet above the valley which intervenes between these 
 hills and the mountain from whence the volcanic mat- 
 ter is supposed to have come. 
 
 I hazard a purely unprofessional and gratuitous sug- 
 gestion, that the trees were gradually petrified while 
 they were yet upright and living, through the slow 
 absorption at the roots of silic acid, which exuded 
 from the rocks beneath and impregnated the soil 
 around them. As the process of petrifaction pro- 
 gressed and extended upwards, the trees became top- 
 heavy, and fell over from their own weight, the roots 
 having become too brittle through decay or petrifac- 
 tion to assist in sustaining them in their natural erect 
 position. The fact that the roots and lower parts of 
 the trunks only were petrified — no fragments of the 
 boughs are to be found — strengthens this last hypoth- 
 esis. However, there is nothing on earth so cheap 
 as theories — certainly nothing more worthless — and 
 the reader can take his choice, or reject them all and 
 
A PAYLXG THEORY. 
 
 181 
 
 form one of his own, if he pleases. On the whole, it 
 is quite likely that he or she will get along just as well 
 without any theory whatever — the petrified trees are 
 there anyhow— and in doing so, save himself and 
 mankind generally a world of trouble. I have ob- 
 served in my capacity as a journalist, that the detective 
 or other officer who forms a theory in regard to the 
 perpetration of a crime, invariably warps all the facts 
 to accommodate them to that theory, and in nine 
 cases out of ten ends by going wide of the truth, 
 and having 1 the mortification of seeing some dull- 
 headed, non-theorizing plodder carry off the reward 
 for the discovery of the criminal. As a rule, what is 
 cheap is not worth having at any price, and the mere 
 fact that a theory on any subject costs nothing at the 
 start, is rather against it than otherwise. I used to 
 have theories on politics and religion and social econ- 
 omy years ago, but I found that they kept me in hot 
 water all the time, so I discarded them all, and have 
 had abundant reason to thank a merciful Providence 
 for having done so. As a rule, theories don't pay. 
 It is true there are exceptions. I once knew a famous 
 southern journalist who retired from the pursuit of 
 his profession, and settled down as a theoretical and 
 practical sheep-raiser, in Coural county, Texas. He 
 had a theory. It was, that the sure road to fortune 
 — for others — lay in buying blooded sheep for im- 
 proving the native breed. He succeeded in convincing 
 his fellow-citizens of the Lone Star State of the truth 
 of this theory, and became rich by selling them the 
 sheep at round prices. But you will readily observe 
 
jg 2 NAPA VALLEY. 
 
 that he ran his theory, instead of following the usual 
 custom, and allowing- his theory to run him. Most 
 people are run by their theories, and fail. Having 
 never been able to sell my theories to others, and be- 
 ing determined not to buy any, or keep any on hand, 
 I have retired from the theory business entirely, and 
 do not propose to go back to it. 
 
 The road leading up to the Petrified Forest from 
 Calistoga is a romantic and beautiful one, and the trip 
 on a pleasant morning or evening in the early spring- 
 time, when the hills are clad in vivid green, and 
 the manzanita and the madrono are in blossom, load- 
 ing all the air with their sensuous fragrance, is one to 
 be enjoyed to the utmost, and ever after remembered 
 with pleasure. 
 
 " There is no beauty in star or blossom 
 Till looked upon with a loving eye ; 
 There is no fragrance in spring-time breezes 
 Till breathed with joy as they wander by." 
 
 Beautiful for aye to me are the stars which look 
 down in their glory on this valley and these moun- 
 tains ; more fragrant than the winds from the sweet 
 south, which have passed over "the Gardens of Gul 
 in their bloom," are the soft breezes which I have here 
 breathed with a tender joy unutterable. 
 
 A two-mile ride through the fertile valley takes 
 one to the foot of Mount St. Helena, and a winding 
 carriage- road, supplemented by a bridle-path, leads 
 thence to the summit of the grand old mountain. The 
 tourists who every summer are whirled through this 
 valley up to the Geysers and back again in hot haste, 
 vainly imagining that they are seeing, when they 
 
^Mai 
 
VIEW FROM MT. ST. HELENA. j g ., 
 
 arc in truth only "doing" California, know not 
 what a treat they are missing- in passing by Mount St. 
 Helena without ascending it. The mountain rises 
 only 4,345 feet above the sea, its altitude being really 
 less than that of Mount Washington, in New Hamp- 
 shire, but it so far overtops the surrounding hills and 
 lesser mountains, that the view from its summit is 
 grand and extended beyond the power of words to 
 depict. From the broad Pacific on the west, to the 
 snow-capped Sierra Nevada, which skirts the whole 
 eastern horizon, and from San Francisco and the 
 mountains of San Mateo, Alameda, and Santa Clara 
 in the south, to the Black Buttes of Marysville and the 
 valley of Russian River, the redwood forests of Men- 
 docino and Sonoma, and the high mountain country 
 of the Lakes on the northeast, northwest and north, 
 the view is unbroken and uninterrupted, save by the 
 isolated peaks of Mount Diablo, Tamalpais, and a few 
 lesser landmarks of the Golden Land. The view from 
 the summit of Tamalpais is worth a journey from Eu- 
 rope to behold — that from St. Helena is worth a hun- 
 dred of it. To the stranger there is enchantment in 
 the scene ; to the old Californian, history, romance, 
 suggestive memories, in every feature of the scene. 
 Look over there to the eastward beyond the inter- 
 vening coast-range foot-hills into the valley of the 
 Sacramento! Who, standing here and looking down 
 for the first time upon that broad, straw-colored val- 
 ley, dry as the dust of the highway, and glimmering in 
 the hot sunshine, would believe that a few years since 
 it was one wide sea of turbid waters, forty miles from 
 
jg, JMPA VALLEY. 
 
 bank to bank, and stretching from the Bay of Suisun 
 to the Black Buttes of Marysville and beyond ? Yet 
 such it was. In the winter of 1 86 1-2, steamers went 
 twenty miles inland from the banks of the Sacramento, 
 and from tree-tops, hay-stacks, and the roofs of houses 
 and barns, or fixed rafts constructed of house and 
 fence materials, rescued hundreds of families who 
 otherwise must have perished in the raging - floods. 
 Those were indeed dark days for the dwellers in the 
 valley of the Sacramento, and it seemed for a time 
 that the whole country must be abandoned forever by 
 man. For more than forty days and forty nights the 
 windows of Heaven were opened, and the rain poured 
 down almost incessantly. San Francisco was filled 
 with refugees, supported by the charity of her citizens; 
 and all the towns of the valley country were flooded, 
 or saved from destruction only by incessant labor 
 upon their levees. 
 
 In those days people joked and laughed in the 
 midst of their misfortunes with true California humor. 
 Well do I remember hearing a party of the "drowned 
 out," standing on the deck of a steamer which was 
 carrying them to San Francisco, and relating with 
 grim facetiousness the mishaps and adventures of the 
 hour. One rough-bearded fellow, with a pale, shrink- 
 ing, feeble woman by his side, and a half-clad, sick 
 child in his arms, told how, while the family were 
 clinging to the boughs of a tree just above the surg- 
 ing waters, they saw a house going swiftly down the 
 stream, with a Chinaman sitting quietly astride the 
 ridge of the roof. "Halloa, John! where are you 
 
WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE, ETC. T Q- 
 
 bound for?" called out one of the party as John was 
 swept swiftly past. "Me no shabbe!" was John's 
 prompt but half-despairing - reply. Let us hope that 
 he brought up in some safe harbor at last. Another 
 of the group told, with an evident hearty relish and 
 keen appeciation cf the absurdity of the matter, how 
 he had passed on a raft in the immediate vicinity of a 
 country house, which, firmly anchored to two giant 
 trees, held its own stiffly against the flood. The water 
 stood four feet deep on the ground floor, and the 
 children were looking composedly out of the chamber 
 window at the old lady, who, armed with a long pole, 
 was wading around armpit deep in the water some 
 distance from the house. From time to time, she 
 would turn the end of the pole downwards and feel 
 about in the water for something. The party on the 
 raft hailed her to know if any of her family had been 
 drowned, intending if such was the case to offer to 
 stop and help her search for the body. " No, thank 
 you; family all safe, but the child'n is terribly dry, 
 an' I never like to let 'em drink river water, 'cause its 
 so agery, an' I'm jest tryin' to find the confounded 
 well. If I don't think hit's gone an' floated away, 
 drown me, stranger; an' it cost us a heap o' money!" 
 was the poor distressed woman's half-despairing re- 
 ply. This prejudice against river water is doubtless 
 to some extent justifiable, as, in the summer season, the 
 amount of vegetable matter held in solution in it must 
 be considerable ; nevertheless, I incline to the im- 
 pression that the old lady was rather running it into 
 the ground under all the circumstances. 
 
1 86 
 
 NAPA VALLEY. 
 
 Away over there in the northwest, among the 
 forest-clad hills which skirt the Valley of Russian 
 River, is the favorite stamping-ground of certain ama- 
 teur hunters and fishermen from San Francisco : mem- 
 bers of the bar and occupants of the bench, who come 
 here to spend the summer vacation, "camping out," 
 roughing it, shooting, fishing, swapping anecdotes by 
 the blazing camp-fires far into the glorious nights, and 
 growing little poorer in pocket, while growing rich to 
 abundance in the health, strength, and elasticity of spirit 
 which they carry back to the city with them. Judge 
 
 , of the U. S. Court, in San Francisco, 
 
 is one of these choice spirits. He is as captivating a 
 talker as you may meet in many a long year's jour- 
 ney ings around this sinful world. His fame has gone 
 out through the land, and everybody now knows him 
 by sight, or reputation at least. It was different years 
 ago. Once upon a time, a party of these city sports 
 were camping in the mountains, and having a jolly 
 good time. One evening a stranger came into camp, 
 and as he appeared to be a nice, quiet, sociable, intel- 
 ligent gentleman, he was made free to everything 
 for the night. He soon showed himself not only a 
 good story-teller, but something still dearer to the 
 Judge's heart — a good listener. After supper, he 
 seated himself upon a log before the blazing camp-fire, 
 and the Judge, placing himself between him and the 
 fire, crossed his hands under his coat-tails, bent his 
 face in close proximity to that of his victim, and went 
 for him for all he was worth. An hour — two, three 
 hours passed, and still the Judge talked on ; and still 
 
"PRESENTLY, SIR; PRESENTLY." 
 
 l8 7 
 
 the stranger maintained his position, holding on to 
 the loof with both hands, and looking his honor fix- 
 edly in the face. One of the party called another to 
 one side, and said to him anxiously: "For Heaven's 
 sake, call the Judge oft, or we won't sleep a wink 
 to-night." Number two approached the Judge quietly, 
 pulled him by the sleeve, and said : 
 
 "See here, Judge, I have something that I would 
 like to speak to you about for a few moments! " 
 
 "Presently!' 
 
 An hour passed and the manoeuvre was repeated, 
 with the same reply — 
 
 "Presently!" 
 
 Another hour, and another member tried it on. 
 
 "Presently, sir; presently, I tell you!" was the 
 Judge's somewhat impatient reply. 
 
 Another and another tried it with like success, or 
 want of success, and at last all gave it up and turned 
 into their welcome blankets. All through the weary 
 night the party turned uneasily in their blankets from 
 time to time, and still heard the Judge going on — and 
 on — and on — the stream of talk flowing as steadily 
 and remorselessly as the stream of Time, which 
 sinofcth as it flows — 
 
 "And men may come, and men may go, 
 But I yo on forever." 
 
 Morning broke over the grey mountains at last, 
 and the party arose to prepare for breakfast. The 
 fire had gone out, but the Judge stood there as he 
 had been standing on the evening before, with his 
 hands clasped behind him, his back bent towards 
 
1 83 
 
 NAPA VALLEY. 
 
 where the fire had been, and his face toward the foe — 
 still talking- on — and on — and on. And the stranger? 
 He sat there still, with his eyes fixed in a du'l, stony 
 stare straight in the Judge's face — mad, hopelessly 
 mad! They pulled the Judge away by main force, 
 and compelled him to notice the condition of his vic- 
 tim, something he had utterly omitted to do before. 
 It was too late ; reason had given way at last before 
 the terrible strain, and she never recovered her throne. 
 To this day, a grey-haired, quiet, hopelessly-afflicted 
 patient wanders around in the public ward of the In- 
 sane Asylum at Stockton, looking with a fixed, stony 
 stare before him, and never speaking to any human 
 being ; only at long intervals muttering half incoher- 
 ently, "Presently, presently!" while the Judge goes 
 on the even tenor of his way, dealing out justice to 
 his fellow-men, and sleeping at nights like a Christian 
 ■ — when he has nobody to talk to. 
 
 Years passed on, and the "road agents" who had 
 long made it lively for the travelers and expressmen 
 in the Sierra Nevada and the gold districts of the 
 foothill country of California, finding the old stamping- 
 ground becoming comparatively unproductive, shifted 
 their base of operations over to the western and south- 
 ern parts of the State, and set to work with fresh 
 energy to gain a livelihood by the industrious prac- 
 tice of their profession. In the spring and summer 
 of 1 87 1 they affected Sonoma county to a disagree- 
 able extent, and cleaned out stage-load after stage-load 
 over there in the northwest, about Cloverdale. You 
 can see the road with the glass, there where it winds 
 
STAND AND DELIVER. j g g 
 
 over the divide coming out of the Russian River Val- 
 ley. One night in .August a party of San Franciscans 
 went up the valley from Santa Rosa, bound on a 
 hunting expedition into the mountains, and the gen- 
 tlemen of the road, mistaking their ambulance for the 
 regular stage, came quietly out into the road from the 
 dusty chapparal on either side, like so many ghosts, in 
 slouched hats and black crape veils, and presenting 
 the.V shot-guns, ordered the party to stand and deliver. 
 The party, never dreaming of such a misadventure, 
 had their guns all stowed away in their cases in the 
 bottom of the carriage, and were in no condition to 
 resist. The beau and wit of the party arose, and with 
 a deprecatory gesture commenced to address the 
 veiled figures before him : 
 
 "Gentlemen, I regret to disappoint you and give 
 you so much unnecessary trouble, but the fact is, you 
 have made a trifling mistake. This isn't a stage. We 
 are a party of peaceful citizens bound on a hunting 
 and fishing expedition, and haven't got so much as a 
 dollar in cash, a watch or a ring in the party. We 
 don't carry 'em when we go on such a trip. It isn't 
 safe. You know how it is yourselves !" 
 
 "Oh, cut it short! Save the rest for the next 
 party. Git down there d — d quick!" was the em- 
 phatic remark of the leader of the gang. The beau 
 and wit got down in despair, and held up his hands. 
 Then a woe-begone visage was protruded from the 
 side of the vehicle, and in solemn, sepulchral accents, 
 a new address commenced as follows : 
 
 "Gentlemen, it is not often that I am called upon 
 
j g NAPA VALLEY. 
 
 to make any remarks in a case like this. It seerrib to 
 me that the matter may be stated briefly as follows : 
 Firstly, the " 
 
 " Great G — d, boys!" fairly yelled the leader, as he 
 
 recognized his man, "if this ain't old Judge , 
 
 I'll be d — d! Let's get; for if he gets to talking to 
 us, we'll die right here of old age or starvation!" and 
 in half the time it would take me to tell it, the whole 
 gang broke, as from the presence of the cholera, and 
 disappeared in the chaparral from whence they came, 
 never halting even to say good-by. 
 
 That reminds me of the fellow who came up to me 
 with an Apache arrow sticking in his back, on the 
 Skull Valley road, in Central Arizona. He 
 
 It pains me to be compelled to cut that story short 
 at the above point, but love of truth impels me to say 
 that I never had an opportunity of finishing it in the 
 presence of that company. Just as I started to tell 
 what the poor fellow did, I heard one of the party re- 
 mark to another, " No insane asylum in mine, if I 
 know it!" and a moment after observed them all, one 
 by one, my beloved and trusted companions, crawling 
 off over the rocks, like so many skulking Apaches, to- 
 ward the spot where the horses were tied. When I 
 overtook them, just as they were getting into their 
 saddles, they assured me that they always liked that 
 story about the Judge. They considered it "very 
 neat and very appropriate." Well, so they did, and 
 so do I ; but I cursed in my heart the set of over- 
 apprecxitive wretches who could draw a moral so fine, 
 and put it in practice so suddenly. I like fun ; but 
 
A TALE SPOILED. IQ1: 
 
 practical jokes and practical jokers I detest. I was 
 so disgusted that I never looked behind me to see 
 what else was to be seen from the summit of Mount 
 St. Helena, and in sorrow and in silence rode away 
 down the mountain to Calistoga a^ain. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WAITING UNDER THE MADRONO. 
 
 Dreaming of the Tropics again. — The IIoney-Bee in California. — A Good Joke 
 on the Bear. — In the Valley of the Shadow. — Nina Hermosa. — On the Red 
 Desert.--Fair Alfaretto. — Burning the Mezquites. — The Curse of the "White 
 Man. — A Wild Night's Ride in the Sierra. 
 
 Here, under the great Madrono, on the gently 
 sloping hillside we, the trout-fishing party, the Doc- 
 tor, with his Henry rifle, moodily bent on somebody 
 or something, he cares little what, so that it is large 
 and dangerous — a grizzly, if he can find him; a Cal- 
 ifornia lion, if one comes in his way; a wild-cat, or 
 an eagle, if nothing better offers; or possibly, by the 
 rarest good fortune, a specimen of the mighty mount- 
 ain vulture of California, first cousin to and almost 
 the counterpart of the giant condor of the Andes — 
 and myself, less aspiring hunter after pigeons, and 
 such small game, were to meet and lunch after our 
 morning's wanderings in the mountains. " I am 
 either the first man up, or blamedly belated !" re- 
 marked the incorrigible drunkard, as he awoke in the 
 coffin, in which his appreciative friends, by way of 
 experiment, had conveyed him to the cemetery and 
 left him beside a new-made grave; sat up, rubbed his 
 eyes, and looked around him under the impression 
 ( 192 ) 
 
THE FIRST MAN UP. T ^ ^ 
 
 that the last trumpet had blown, and the dead of all 
 time were called upon to come forth in response. 
 There is no one else in sight, and I see no chicken 
 bones, empty champagne bottles, or other "sign" of 
 a lunch party having been here. On the whole, I 
 think I must be the first man up on this occasion. 
 I wonder where that Bill is with the lunch basket ? 
 It is barely half-past twelve o'clock, but I was off 
 at daybreak, and climbing rocky mountain sides, and 
 pushing through tangled chaparral and the blackened 
 stumps of thickets, run through and killed by last 
 autumn's fires, is tiresome work, especially when the 
 few pigeons you see keep half a mile out of the way, 
 beyond the reach of a gun, as they have done with 
 me all this morning. I 'would like to see Bill about 
 this time. Hall-o-o-o-o-o-a ! Hall-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-a \ 
 No response. Well, this is a nice place for a quiet 
 nap anyway, and the air is just warm and soft enough 
 to make it a luxury. I will improve my time. 
 
 " Ah me ! 
 The hours o'er which we have least cause to weep 
 Are those we pass in childhood, or in sleep." 
 
 The first haven't come my way of late, but I can put 
 in as square a day's work at the last as any man I 
 have ever met yet. The Madrono boughs are loaded 
 down with great, fleecy masses of creamy- white, bell- 
 shaped blossoms, fragrant as the magnolia, and I see 
 the black and yellow honey-bees swarming over 
 them, while their low, steady humming falls with a 
 soothing effect upon my drowsy ear. Even so I 
 
 listened to and listlessly watched them, as I sat be- 
 13 
 
194 
 
 WISE BEES. 
 
 <neath the cocoa palms and breathed the fragrance of 
 the orange and primavera blossoms at La Calera. 
 Every flower gives its own distinct flavor to the 
 honey gathered from it. The orange-flower honey 
 of Orizaba is fit to grace the table of the gods. I 
 wish I had a little of it now, with some nice warm bis- 
 cuits, such as my mother used to make for me. This 
 madrono- flower honey ought to be delicious! I 
 wonder if the bears of California have found out how 
 good it is ! The honey bee came to California with 
 the Yankees, but the American variety soon found 
 out that they could get along with next to nothing in 
 the shape of a winter store, and so in a few years 
 they took to loafing all summer, and shifting for 
 themselves as best they might during the rainy sea- 
 son, leaving no margin for profit for their owners, 
 who, after paying fabulous prices for them, were 
 obliged to turn them adrift and import Italian bees to 
 take their places. Singularly enough, the yellow 
 rascals, as soon as they were independent, and under 
 no obligation to work for anybody else, took to the 
 mountains, and went to work with a will on their own 
 hook. They have now spread through the whole 
 State; and in some localities, as in San Bernardino 
 and Los Angeles counties, bee -hunting, for their 
 stores of delicious honey, has become a regular and 
 profitable business. 
 
 If the California bears have not found out how 
 good the honey is, the fact does no credit to their 
 intelligence. In the valley of the Mississippi the 
 ■bear is the wild bees' most persistent enemy. But 
 
BEAR VERSUS BEES. jgr 
 
 the bees sometimes make it very lively for him. I 
 remember an old Arkansas hunter who told with in- 
 finite gusto one anecdote in point. Said he: "I had 
 heard an angry growling and snapping in the bushes, 
 and I knowed that a bar was thar and in trouble; but 
 for the soul of me I couldn't make out what it was. 
 I allowed that perhaps he might have got a bullet 
 into him, and was tryin' to work it out by mouthing 
 it ; bar will do that sometimes ; so I just crawled like a 
 cat through the underbrush for about ten rods, pulling 
 old Grim — that's what I used to call my old Kaintuck 
 rifle for short — after me, and going mighty cautious, 
 not to be heard. The growlin' and snappin' kept up 
 all the time, and it was no trouble to find the riofht 
 place. Jest when I got to the edge of the brush, I 
 looked out into a little open space whar thar was 
 no bushes, and right in the middle of it I seen a bar 
 sittin' on a bee-gum that had been blowed down and 
 split open, and jest shovelin' the honey into his mouth, 
 hand over hand. The bees they was as thick as hair on a 
 dog's back, all around and over him, and the way they 
 was puttin' in their best licks in the way of stingin' 
 him onto the nose and around the eyes and mouth, 
 was a caution to snakes, you bet. Every time he 
 shoveled a handfull of honey into his face he would give 
 a growl and a slap or two at the bees. Arter a while, 
 he reached forard a little more nor usual, and the bees 
 seen a bare spot on his rump — bars has a bare spot 
 on their rump generally, whar they wears the har off, 
 sittin' down and turnin' round — and they went for it, 
 for all there was in sight. This startled him like, and 
 
!g5 WAITING UNDER THE MADRONO. 
 
 in tryin' to whirl around, so as to get a good grab at 
 'em, he fell off the log heels over head. He rolled 
 over and over on the ground three or four times, and 
 then jumped back on the log and went for the honey, 
 uMier nor ever. I thought I had had fun enough watchin' 
 on him up to that time, and I had better save him and 
 the rest of the honey at the same time. So I jest 
 drawed a bead on him with old Grim, and he rolled 
 off that bee-gum deader nor he'd been struck by light- 
 nin'. And would you believe it, ladies and gentlemen, 
 that d — d bar never seen me at all, but thinks to this 
 minnit that 'twas them ar bees that stung him to death! " 
 Up from the depths of the deep cafion, over on the 
 other side of the narrow valley, at the foot of the hill, 
 comes a long-drawn bugle-call, and I turn drowsily 
 over and gaze in that direction, half impressed with 
 the idea that I shall see agfain the lon^-drawn lines and 
 glancing arms of the Guard of Jalisco filing through 
 the barrancas at the foot of the volcano of Colima. 
 But there rises no smoke from the summit of yonder 
 mountain — the volcanic fires died out a^es and asfes 
 ago in the crater of St. Helena, and I look in vain 
 down the winding valley for the green palanquin, with 
 the grey- haired statesman and wanderer in many 
 lands, borne by white-clad Aztecs, and the gallant 
 Zomeli, the beau sabratr of Guadalajara, riding at 
 the head of his squadrons of swarthy horsemen. I 
 am not in the tropics after all, though dreaming of 
 them ; and it is the madrono, not the palm, whose 
 green leaves rustle so gently in the sweet spring air 
 above me. 
 
DEMORALIZATION. jg- 
 
 I wonder where Bill can be. I could stand the loss 
 of the rest of the party, but he is my friend indeed, or 
 would be if I could see him. If I thought I could find 
 a good dish of frijoles and tortillas in the camp of 
 those Mexican or Chileno charcoal-burners over there 
 in the cafion, from whence the bugle-call came, I 
 would start on the instant, and let the rest of the 
 party go ; but the chances are ten to one that they 
 have become demoralized, living 1 among- the Yankees 
 and Pikes, and I should find only black coffee in the 
 place of the delicious chocolate de Tabasco, fried bacon 
 {or frijoles, and saleratus or yeast-powder biscuit for 
 the tortillas. This is a pretty good place after all, 
 though I am getting very dry. 
 
 I believe I will take a smoke. Why did I not think 
 of that before ? The tobacco of Orizava is meat and 
 drink and rest, all in one. Leonardo Sandoval, pro- 
 prietor of " La Fabric a del Buen Gusto en Guada- 
 lajara," you are a noble fellow, though anti-tobacco- 
 nists may say what they please ; and you are my 
 friend! You have the soul of a poet, too, in your 
 bosom, else this would never have been printed in 
 letters of gold upon the wrapper ot the package of 
 your cigarritos, which by unbounded good luck I find 
 in my pocket: 
 
 Nina hermosa, 
 Ya que te dio' natara bondadosa 
 Dicntes de per/a, labios de coral; 
 
 La ambrosia 
 Aspira solo de la csencia mia 
 Y hare tu alicnto puro, angelical. 
 
IQ g WAITING UNDER THE MADRONO. 
 
 Your head is eminently level, Sefior Sandoval ! I 
 endorse your sentiments to the very letter. Si Nina 
 Jiermosa; I know her well! Teeth of pearl, lips of 
 coral ; that is her description to the life ! Hang- me, 
 Leonardo, if you are not an artist as well as a poet 
 and tobacconist! When next I enter your shop on 
 the corner of the street of the Aduana and San Felipe, 
 in orange-embowered Guadalajara, I will cultivate a 
 more intimate acquaintance. Nina Jiermosa, I should 
 like wonderfully well to drink to your health just now, 
 but as I have not the essential for such a demonstra- 
 tion with me, I will do the best I can under the circum- 
 stances, and give you a puff — from my cigarrito ! 
 
 The blue smoke curls gracefully upward, rising 
 through the madrono branches in a slender column, 
 so like a delicate, long-stemmed wine-glass in form, as 
 to awaken a double recollection and association in my 
 mind. I stand again on the Red Desert, hot, blister- 
 ing sand beneath my feet, a brazen sky all aflame 
 above, and bare, red mountains flickering in the re- 
 flected rays of the fierce, blazing sun of the south, 
 around me, gazing on a scene so sad, that even I, 
 bitter Indian- hater that I am and must be. witness 
 with heartfelt pain. Let me see how it all came 
 about. 
 
 It was in the autumn of 1863 when the mad rush 
 across the Colorado Desert, to the newly found gold 
 and copper mines beyond the Colorado, in Arizona, 
 was at its height. The heat and dust, and consequent 
 sufferings of the poorly outfitted participants in the 
 rush, were terrible. What will not man suffer for the 
 
LOST ON THE DESERT. 
 
 I 99 
 
 sake of gold, always provided that the gold is far 
 enough off, and hard enough to get ? Nearer at hand 
 and easier won, it is not half so attractive. 
 
 Uncle Billy Thompson and myself had taken a 
 "short cut" across the desert from San Gorgonio Pass, 
 eastward toward the Colorado, to avoid undesirable 
 company; we lost the trail, and wandered on the red- 
 hot desert sands, and in the sun-baked adobe moun- 
 tains, without water, until our tongues parched in our 
 mouths so that we dared not talk ; and before our long- 
 ing eyes the leafless /wA? ycrde shrubs turned to lofty 
 palm trees, waving their green leaves in tropic breezes; 
 and the mirage changed scattered volcanic rocks into 
 great cities, whose long, level streets were lined with 
 rows of palaces, such as the good Haroun Al Raschid 
 raised in the city of the caliphs. By one of those 
 freaks of fortune which some men call "miracles," 
 others "special Providence," others "lucky chances" 
 — and for which we thanked God in the silence of our 
 hearts without stopping to call it anything — we had 
 found a little deposit of pure water under a rock, left 
 a day or two before by a cloud-burst, which had torn 
 a channel like that of some great river, for twenty 
 miles through the gravelly sands of the desert, and 
 disappeared like a dream, leaving no other trace be- 
 hind — had shared the life-giving element with our 
 famishing horses, taken rest and new heart, and trav- 
 eling on, passing the spot where others less fortunate 
 had lain down in despair and died, had reached a hos- 
 pitable camp, and been saved at last. We had journey- 
 ed thence in safety at last to the land of the accursed 
 
200 WAITING UNDER THE MADRONO. 
 
 Apache, wandered into the red mountains of Arizona,, 
 made our "locations," and separated — he to toil in the 
 mines and fight the treacherous, prowling Indians for 
 years, I to return to home and civilization. Alone I 
 had made the return trip from La Paz to Chucolwalla, 
 and thence to Tabasaca and Canon Springs, where 
 the faithful old buckskin steed Muchacho Juan, com- 
 panion and friend in all my wanderings, had fallen 
 down and died in terrible agony, after eating the poi- 
 sonous weed of the desert known as "muerto en cl 
 cavipo" (death in the camp), leaving me to finish 
 my journey of two hundred miles back to the settle- 
 ments of California on foot and alone. Out of the jaws 
 of death we had ridden exultantly into the camp at 
 Dos Palmas a month before ; into the gates of hell I 
 walked with bleeding feet as I left Dos Palmas next, 
 inthe terrible silence of the desert night, on my weary 
 tramp toward San Bernardino. 
 
 It was two a.m. when I wearily climbed the summit 
 of the divide between Dos Palmas and the Palma 
 Seca, and looked down into the great plain below. 
 When the last man looks down on the wreck of the 
 universe, and sees our world going back into chaos, 
 without form and void, he will not behold a scene of 
 more utter and savage desolation, or find himself 
 wrapped in a silence more truly terrible. The full, 
 round moon flooded the whole landscape with mellow 
 light, but naught of life was to be seen ; the ghastly 
 pallor of death was upon and over everything. South- 
 ward to the horizon stretched a great plain of snowy 
 salt — the grim and silent ghost of a dead sea of the 
 
DESERT SCENERY. OQI 
 
 past, which once covered all this accursed land, but 
 being 1 cut off by volcanic changes in the country below 
 from the Gulf of California, dried up beneath the blaz- 
 ing sun of the south, and passed away forever. Across 
 this vast white plain, as across the waters of a placid 
 lake, the moon threw a track of shimmering liMit so 
 bright as to almost dazzle the eyes of the beholder. 
 Right in this glowing pathway of light, far out in the 
 centre of this ghostly sea, where foot of man hath never 
 trod, lay what appeared in the dim distance the wreck 
 of a gallant ship, which may have gone down there 
 centuries ago, when the bold Spanish Conquistador cs, 
 bearing the cross in one hand and the sword in the 
 other, and serving God and Mammon, and the Most 
 Catholic King of Spain and the Indias, with exem- 
 plary zeal, were pushing their way to the northwest, in 
 search of souls to save for the love of Christ, and new 
 kingdoms to plunder on shares. They sought then 
 in vain for the fountain of youth, El Dorado, and 
 the far-famed "Seven Cities of Civola." The fountain 
 of youth lies ever just beyond the western horizon ; 
 we shall find it, and drink of it, and bathe in its waters 
 bye-and-bye ; the kingdom of Civola, from whence 
 came the gems and treasure of Montezuma, lay even 
 then in ruins in central Arizona, as we know to-day ; 
 and El Dorado they found, but knew it not, leaving it 
 to us, who long years after came in and possessed 
 the land, and made it to blossom as the rose, and to 
 our children's children, to shout "Eureka!" over i'js 
 abounding wealth. To the southwestward, beyond 
 the western shore of the ancient sea, the Coyotero 
 
202 
 
 WAITING UNDER THE MADRONO. 
 
 mountains broke the outline of the horizon. Farther 
 northward, Mount San Jacinto lifted his rugged form 
 in a black mass against the sky; and northward, still 
 the desert, in pulseless waves of ashes, minute sea- 
 shells and yellow sand, stretched away for a hundred 
 miles, like a stagnant, tideless sea, to where Mount 
 San Gorgonio and Mount San Bernardino towered 
 aloft in awful majesty — twin giants, grim and grand — 
 at the gateway of this strange, wild, weird, myste- 
 rious land. Upon their sides, far above the yellow 
 sands of the desert, belts of dark-hued pifion forests 
 stretched upward to their crowns of white, disinteg- 
 rated granite, which gleamed like snow-fields in the 
 clear moonlight, contrasting like frosted silver against 
 the sapphire sky, and seeming to be cut off and de- 
 tached from the earth below — floating like aerial ice- 
 bergs through the starlit sea of the heavens. In vain 
 I looked and listened ; sight or sound of life, save my 
 own, there was none ; the eternal silence of the desert 
 rested like a pall on the scene. This stillness is some- 
 thing awful, beyond the power of words to describe. 
 In the absence of all other sounds, save that of my 
 own hushed breathing, the ticking of the watch in my 
 pocket was so distinctly audible as to become painful 
 to hear. The world in ruins lay around me, and 
 though in it, I seemed not of it. "Though I walk 
 through the Valley of the Shadow of Death," cried 
 the Psalmist: lo, the Valley of the Shadow stretched 
 out before my feet! 
 
 As the grey light, creeping sluggishly over the gla- 
 cier mountains, announced the coming dawn, I limped 
 
A WOFUL FLIGHT. 2Q ~ 
 
 into the thicket of rani:, bitter-leaved arrowwood which 
 surrounds the bitter and nauseous alkaline springs of 
 the Palma Seca, drank of the slimy waters, filled my 
 canteen afresh, and pushed on again down into the 
 plain, with a walk of twenty-five miles through alka- 
 line dust, in the hottest valley on the surface of the 
 earth — seventy feet below the level of the sea at that 
 — before me. About ten o'clock, a ranchero from 
 San Bernardino, who had been out to the new gold 
 mines of Arizona with a drove of beef cattle, came 
 up and joined me. His horse, a noble, fine-haired 
 half-breed, far too cfood an animal to be brought out 
 into this accursed desert to die of heat, thirst and 
 starvation, was so weak that he could no longer bear 
 the weight of his master, and jogged mechanically on, 
 with his eyes closed and his ears hanging down, like 
 two frost-bitten tobacco-leaves, as his late rider limped 
 before him, packing his blankets on his shoulder, and 
 pulling sadly at the halter. Noble — such was the 
 name of my friend from San Bernardino — had been 
 a jaunty-looking young fellow when I saw him start- 
 ing out for the mines from home six weeks before. 
 When I met him that day he was a fit subject for the 
 pencil of Hogarth. His coat had dried up and van- 
 ished, piece by piece, in the thorny thickets beyond 
 the Colorado, and his vest had followed suit ; his hat 
 was a wreck, his pants in ruins, and the uppers and 
 soles of his boots having parted company, he had, in 
 a fit of desperation, parted company with both. To 
 replace his boots, he had split his lower nether gar- 
 ment in twain, and bound the sections around his 
 
204- WAITING UNDER THE MADRONO. 
 
 swollen feet, thus in a measure protecting them from 
 the blistering sun over the excoriating alkaline dust 
 and ashes. 
 
 Opposite where we met that morning was a broad 
 sheet of dried mud, broken from the bed of what in 
 the moment of a cloud-burst had been a roaring tor- 
 rent, capable of sweeping away a whole train in an 
 instant, as one was swept away near there in 1866, 
 when men were drowned and their bodies carried 
 miles away into the desert, and set up on end like a 
 grave-stone. Some passing miners on the back track 
 had spent an hour or more in cutting an inscription 
 on this monument, as follows: 
 
 "In memory of the Infernal Asses who left home, 
 square meals, and the comforts of civilization behind 
 them in San Francisco, and sought their eternal for- 
 tunes among the mines in the blessed regions beyond 
 the Colorado, of which are we. This monument was 
 raised at the joint expense of the merchants of Los 
 Angeles and San Bernardino, who drove a thriving 
 trade, and had a grand thing out of it while the ex- 
 citement lasted. And of such is the kingdom of 
 Heaven." 
 
 We looked at each other and at the monument by 
 turns with mournful interest. The cork of Noble's 
 canteen flew out with a pop, propelled by the force of 
 the sulphur gas generated from the half-boiling, stink- 
 ing water, as it was shaken about as he limped along. 
 " Here, Fly-up-the-Creek — I've forgotten your other 
 name — take a drink ! " said he. "You are another, 
 my beauty, and I cannot refuse! " I replied, and swal- 
 lowed a mouthful of the nauseating fluid. 
 
HOrE AT LAST. 
 
 20 : 
 
 There is nothing more picturesque than a caravan 
 on the desert — when seen in a picture, when you sit 
 comfortably at home in a civilized country. Believe 
 me, beloved of my heart, 'tis indeed distance lends 
 enchantment to the view. That expression is, I be- 
 lieve, not wholly original. I have a dim recollection 
 of having heard or read something similar once or 
 twice before — but it is very neat and very appro- 
 priate, and I crib it accordingly. 
 
 Higher and higher climbed the sun into the un- 
 clouded, copper- hued sky, and hotter and hotter grew 
 the motionless desert air, until the point where breath- 
 ing would become an impossibility, and the whole 
 apparatus must catch fire and burn up, seemed almost 
 reached. The treeless mountains which shut in this 
 desert basin on all sides, keep out at this season every 
 breath of life-giving breeze, and the sun pouring 
 into it, as into an old-fashioned tin bake-oven, makes 
 everything fairly hiss with the all-consuming heat. 
 Mile after mile I plodded on, leaving Noble and his 
 exhausted horse far behind, the heat and thirst becom- 
 ing more nearly intolerable at every step. 
 
 And now in the distance, along the western edge 
 of the valley, arose great pillars of smoke — thin, and 
 straight, and slender — to a vast height ; then spread- 
 ing outward into the semblance of wide-limbed trees, 
 whose roots were firmly planted in the earth, whose 
 giant trunks rose in the middle air, and whose branches 
 filled all the heavens above. Toward these pillars of 
 smoke I bent my weary steps; and at last, just as it 
 seemed that my bleeding feet would bear me no further, 
 
206 
 
 WAITING UNDER THE MADRONO. 
 
 and I must sink down exhausted, I came suddenly upon 
 group of Coahuila Indians, gathered around a clump 
 ofmezquite trees, the branches of which were crack- 
 ling in the flames. With parched lips and tongue, 
 swollen from the fierce heat, I tottered, almost faint- 
 ing, into the midst of the group, and held out my 
 empty canteen. A young woman seized the canteen 
 and ran into a thicket hard by, returning with it in a 
 few minutes filled with delicious, cool, clear water, 
 from some hidden well, known only to themselves. I 
 sought for it many a time afterwards, but never found 
 it. I drank of the cool, life-giving liquid — sweeter 
 than champagne or nectar, it seemed to me then (it is 
 but just to the manufacturers of the articles named to 
 say that I had no chance of making a fair comparison 
 at the moment), and then with my blankets on the 
 dry sand under a spreading mezquite, slept the sleep 
 of the just. 
 
 When I awoke the Indians were all gone, save the 
 pitying woman who had brought me the water. She 
 was sitting- at a little distance off watching me, and 
 as she saw me awakening, she ran and brought me 
 another canteen of the cool water. Her language 
 was a sealed book to me, as mine to her, and our con- 
 versation was necessarily limited to a few words of 
 Spanish which pass current everywhere on the south- 
 western border, and are understood in their conven- 
 tional meaning by all. She was barefooted and bare- 
 headed, and marked with the small-pox. Her raiment 
 was of the scantiest, and it was painfully evident that 
 the stock of soap and Cologne water in the parental 
 
THE WHITE MAN'S CURSE. 2Q y 
 
 wickiup was running very low, necessitating the put- 
 ting of the family on short allowance. She was, in 
 short, not a bit like the traditional " fair Alfaretto" in 
 any respect ; nevertheless I would have looked twice 
 at an angel from heaven had one been offered in trade 
 for her, unless the angel had come with a coach-and 
 four, or on horseback, leading a spare horse, at the 
 very least. 
 
 There is a little river, called the Aqua Blancho, is- 
 suing out of the San Bernardino Mountain, at the 
 San Gorgonio Pass, at the upper end of the valley, 
 and sinking 1 in the sands of the desert soon after reach- 
 ing the plain. Its waters are pure and cool, but no 
 tree nor blade of grass grows on its desolate banks. 
 From its source in the barren rock-ribbed mountain 
 to its sink in the desert sands, through all its course, 
 it is an accursed river, flowing ever in silence through 
 a land accursed. But after it sinks and is permanently 
 lost to sight, it contributes something to the comfort 
 of mankind. It supplies the poor Coahuilas' wells 
 fifty and a hundred miles to the southward, and 
 nourishes a growth of the mezquite trees along the 
 western side of the valley. In these mezquite groves 
 the Indians have what is left of their villages since the 
 small-pox has decimated them ; and from the trees 
 they gather the long, yellow, sugary beans, which, 
 pounded into a paste and baked as bread, form with 
 the pifions, or mountain pine nuts, almost their only 
 diet the year round. The small-pox was a ter- 
 rible infliction upon them, but a more terrible one 
 followed close upon it. When the Indians of the 
 
2oS WAITING UNDER THE MADROAO. 
 
 valley of the Mississippi saw the honey-bee coming 
 among- them, they said, " Lo, the messenger of the 
 white man ! He is at hand; it is time for us to go!" 
 Following the small-pox came the mistletoe into this 
 desert land, and, fastening upon the mezquite trees, 
 soon loaded them down so heavily with its parasitic 
 growth, that they ceased to produce beans, and the 
 Indians saw starvation before them. "Lo, the curse 
 of the white man is upon us!" they cried, and sat 
 down in despair. An old chief told them to burn each 
 season the trees worst afflicted with the mistletoe, and 
 perhaps the new ones which would spring up in their 
 places might be free from the curse. This is what 
 they were doing on that day when I stumbled among 
 them ; and a feeling of pity, deep and heartfelt, came 
 over me, as I saw them standing around the burning 
 trees, which had represented to them life, and hope, 
 and abundance, and gazing with saddened, downcast, 
 hopeless faces upon the consuming flames. 
 
 Lying here to-day in the fragrant shade of the 
 blooming madrono, on the green-clad heights of the 
 mountains of Napa, watching the smoke curling up- 
 ward from my fragrant cigarrito, something — what it 
 is I cannot tell — recalls all this to mind and memory; 
 going backward through the years, reproduces the 
 picture once again in all its startling, painful vividness. 
 
 I I-a-1-l-o-o-o-a there ! Thank Heaven, an answer- 
 ing call comes back at last, and I see the Doctor, with 
 his rifle on his shoulder, coming slowly up the moun- 
 tain — and Bill is with him. Bill is my friend. Sun- 
 burned American, never shall any man call you black 
 
HEALTH TO THE WIDOW. 20Q 
 
 again in my presence ! You are a free and enlight- 
 ened American citizen ; smoked a trifle, I admit ; but 
 what is ham until it is smoked? Who objects to 
 smoke? Another widow! First, the Widow of Gar- 
 cia ; then the Widow Cliquot ! Respect for the 
 widows is one of the most striking characteristics of 
 the true gentleman, and I am overflowing with it. 
 Here's to them all ! 
 
 Not much luck to-day, Doctor? Well, the exer- 
 cise will do you good, and that is a consolation at any 
 rate. You certainly needed it. People in San Fran- 
 cisco eat too much and drink too much, take too 
 much sleep and too little pedestrian exercise. They 
 don't perspire from one year's end to the next. 
 There is all the difference in the world between this 
 climate and that of San Francisco ; and, if I am not 
 mistaken, there is still more between this and what 
 you were used to the season you hibernated up there 
 in the Sierra Nevada? 
 
 Yes, there is some difference, and no mistake. Many 
 a night I have curled myself up under three pairs of 
 California eight-pound blankets and shivered all night 
 long. While you are in motion you do not feel the 
 cold so much, but when once you lie down and attempt 
 to sleep, it would take a pile of blankets like Mount 
 St. Helena over there to keep you from freezing to 
 death, unless you had a roaring fire going all the 
 time on one of those stormy nights. And a physician 
 has almost a dead certainty of being called out on the 
 darkest and wildest nights for his longest rides to at- 
 tend on patients who cannot wait a moment under 
 
2IO 
 
 WAITING UNDER THE MADRONO 
 
 any circumstances. One night's ride which I had in 
 the Sierra I shall certainly never forget. 
 
 It was in the winter of 1868—69, when I had just 
 been placed in charge of q division near the summit of 
 the Sierra Nevada, on the then half-finished Central 
 Pacific Railroad. After a long day's ride, I came 
 back to the boarding-house at ten o'clock in the even- 
 ing, and was told that a messenger had been there 
 from Camp No. 10, with a request that I would lose 
 no time in hurrying over there to attend upon John 
 Smith, who was in a very critical condition. The 
 messenger had been very urgent, and it was evidently 
 a case of life and death — nothing less. I took a few 
 minutes to consider. I was tired out, and wanted 
 sleep badly, but could, on a pinch, go a little farther 
 without breaking down entirely. The moon would 
 be up at eleven o'clock, and the night was still and 
 clear, though the snow had only just ceased falling, 
 and was from five to eight feet deep on the level, if you 
 can use the expression properly where there is nothing 
 like a level to be found, and the roads — or trails, 
 rather — are obliterated by the drifts. I inquired about 
 the location of Camp No. 10. It was twelve miles 
 away, and directly over a ridge, or spur, of the moun- 
 tains. My own horse could not stand the trip, but a 
 big lubber of a cart-horse, that they said was a good 
 saddle-horse, was offered me. I got supper, put on 
 dry socks and an extra pair of fur-lined overboots, 
 and, just before midnight, was in the saddle and off. 
 
 A good saddle-horse! The brute belonged to the 
 nightmare family, and his mother must have taken 
 
TRAVELING UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 ?TI 
 
 special pride in him. Great heavens, what a gait! 
 He had traveled so long in the cart that the steady- 
 jolt had communicated itself to his spine, and become 
 chronic. At every step he jerked his back up, as if 
 expecting to feel the girth-strap strike him underneath, 
 and neither curses nor blows — and I labored con- 
 scientiously to earn a reputation for liberality with 
 both that night — would induce him for a moment to 
 recognize the fact that he was out of the shafts, and 
 abandon his eternal hippytyhop. When I started out, 
 there were hard lumps in the saddle, as large as chest- 
 nuts ; before the twelve miles were half completed, 
 the lumps had grown to the size of paving-stones, and 
 awfully sharp -edged and rasping. The snow which 
 had just fallen filled the trail, but the old snow under- 
 neath being hard-packed, and the trees along the route 
 well blazed, I had no difficulty in keeping in the right 
 track most of the time. But when about three miles 
 from my place of destination, as nearly as I could guess, 
 clouds obscured the moon for a time, and I lost the 
 road. 1 kept on as well as I knew how, guessing at the 
 location of Camp No. 10; and, after rolling down the 
 steep side of a ravine, and working half an hour to 
 get old Jerky back upon the ridge, filling my overshoes 
 with snow, and fairly exhausting myself in floundering 
 through the drifts, I was rewarded with the sight of 
 lights in some cabins half a mile away. Not doubting 
 that this was Camp No. 10, I rounded a small canon, 
 worked my way over a point of rocks, Jerky stum- 
 bling and falling repeatedly, and reached the cabins at 
 half past twelve o'clock. 
 
212 
 
 WAITING UNDER 7 HE MADRONO. 
 
 The lights had disappeared. " Halloo the house, 
 there!" No answer. " Halloo the house!" louder 
 and longer than before. A panel in the side of the 
 nearest cabin opened slowly and cautiously, and after 
 time enough had elapsed to allow of a critical exami- 
 nation of the party outside, a voice demanded : "Who 
 you, John? What you wantee catchce here?" It 
 was a Chinese wood-cutters' camp, and there was not 
 a white man about the place. 
 
 The Johns told me that there was a camp of white 
 men on the other side of the ravine I had just crossed, 
 and perhaps half a mile farther up the mountain ; they 
 thought it might be "Camp Numble 10." Half an 
 hour's floundering through the snow brought me back 
 to the point whence I had sighted the lights, and soon 
 after one a.m. I was at the white men's camp. I roused 
 the inmates more easily here, as they were indulging 
 in a little friendly game of "pitch," or "draw" — that 
 being Saturday night — and had not retired to their 
 virtuous bunks. No, that was not Camp No. 10, my 
 informer told me ; and, what was worse, Camp No. 
 10 was right over the summit of the mountain, a mile 
 and a half away. I could go around by the trail three 
 mile.;-, or ride up to the railroad-track, tie my horse, 
 and vvtk through the snow-sheds, a little more than 
 a mile- -H vras contrary to the rules to take an animal 
 inside the *Mt:eds. 
 
 I started \*p toward the track, and reached it at two 
 a. M. The v"vAt was now clear and still ; not the 
 slightest noise iwld be heard, and the silence was 
 something a\yfu\ ,\\ d oppressive. The last man and 
 
A SHORT CUT . 2 j., 
 
 the last horse on earth will not feel more completely 
 alone than Jerky and I did at that moment. As I was 
 about to dismount and tie him to a tree, a thought 
 struck me. I knew every regular train on the road, 
 and there was none due for hours from either direction. 
 I had a time-table in my pocket, and I took it out and 
 examined it carefully by the moonlight. The track 
 was clear; why might I not venture to save my 
 strength and that of my horse, and, by saving time, 
 perhaps save a valuable human life as well? Why 
 not, indeed? The more I thought of it, the more 
 satisfied I became that it was a safe thine to do. 
 
 The moon, now unobscured, was high in the heav- 
 ens as I entered the snow-shed, and it was not very 
 difficult to keep the way, as the light came scintillating 
 through a thousand cracks and crevices in the rough 
 timber structure. Three or four culverts, to allow the 
 passage of mountain streams when the snow is melt- 
 ing, checked my progress for a brief time, but there 
 was a plank across one or two, for the convenience 
 of "foot-passengers," and as the water was hard 
 frozen, I got old Jerky around the others in safety. 
 
 The worst was over, and I was already beginning to 
 chuckle over the adventure, and pride myself on my 
 forethought and pluck in making the venture. 1 had, 
 undoubtedly, saved at least an hour of hard work 
 wading through the snow, and possibly — not improba- 
 bly, in fact, saved a life. Just then I heard a low, tremu- 
 lous, humming noise running aloncr the frost-laden rails, 
 and instinctively checked my horse to listen. It had 
 subsided for the moment, and I went on in silence. 
 
2 14 WAITING UNDER THE MADRONO. 
 
 Suddenly it commenced again, and seemed louder and 
 clearer than before. I halted again. God have mercy 
 upon me! I exclaimed involuntarily. It was the rum- 
 ble of the wheels of a coming train, beyond a ques- 
 tion. I sprang to the ground and placed my ear to 
 the rail. The train was coming from the west ; it 
 must be a "construction train," laden with materials 
 for the road, and possibly with laborers as well. The 
 track occupied the full width of the shed, allowing 
 only for the overhang of the cars. A man might es- 
 cape by lying down ; but a horse was almost sure of 
 death, and if the train struck him, it must go off the 
 track almost inevitably. I was upon old Jerky's back 
 before I was even aware of what I was doing, and 
 started down the grade, to the eastward, as fast as 
 his stiff and clumsy legs, urged by whip and spur, 
 and the attraction of gravitation, could move him. 
 Clearer and clearer came the humming noise ; and I 
 heard, at length, a short, sharp whistle, as the rushing 
 train entered a tunnel, turned a sharp curve, or passed 
 out of a tunnel. It could not be more than two miles, 
 or three at most, away. Jerky skated over the ice- 
 patches, and floundered through the small snow-drifts 
 which had filtered in through the crevices in the shed- 
 work, but reckless of danger to limbs alone in pres- 
 ence of the greater danger to myself, and perhaps 
 hundreds of my fellow- men, I whipped and spurred 
 unceasingly, and drove him on at the height of his 
 speed. Nearer and nearer came the train. I c Hild 
 already hear the chough, chough, chough of the lo- 
 comotive behind me. At last I saw an opening in 
 
A DILEMMA. 
 
 21 
 
 the side of the shed not many rods distant, and, with 
 with a triumphant yell, I urged my steed to put forth 
 his utmost effort. Sixty seconds more and I would 
 be saved, and the danger to the train avoided. The 
 seconds seemed hours in the feverish excitement of 
 the moment, but they were over at last, and I sprang 
 off my horse on the instant that he reached the open- 
 ing, and rushed, with the rein in my hand, through the 
 aperture. Old Jerky snorted and sprang backward, 
 throwing me down, and pulling the rein from my hand. 
 I saw the trouble at a glance. The opening was not 
 of sufficient height to admit of a horse Qfoincr through 
 it erect, and a heavy timber to which the planks were 
 nailed, ran across the top. I sprang inside and took 
 a survey of the situation in an instant. The beam 
 would have borne ten times the strain that I could 
 have brought to bear upon it, as it was a foot thick, 
 sound, and firmly placed. I threw all my strength 
 and weight against the planking a little beyond the 
 beam, and fell back upon the icy ground ; the planks 
 were imbedded in the frozen ground at their lower 
 ends, and I could not start them in the slightest de- 
 gree. I sprang up and ran to the other side of the 
 shed, to try if the planking on that side was less firmly 
 secured. Through the crevices I saw a precipice run- 
 ning hundreds of feet, sheer down from the side of the 
 shed. I could not escape that way, and if the train went 
 off there, no person on it would survive to tell the tale. 
 I fell on my knees to pray, but, before I had uttered 
 a word, the thought passed through my brain that I 
 might throw the horse down, and pull him through 
 
2I 5 WAITING UNDER THE MADRONO 
 
 the opening - by main strength. I had the rope from 
 the saddle in my hands in an instant, and throwing it 
 around his fore-legs, I sprang to one side, and with 
 my whole strength attempted to trip him. The brute 
 jumped backward and refused to fall, while the rope 
 ran through my hands, tearing the skin, and scaring 
 the flesh as if I had grasped a red-hot iron. I remem- 
 bered at that moment having seen a Mexican vaquero 
 showing off his skill in horsemanship, at San Jose, 
 amid an admiring throng, and making the sneering 
 remark to a friend, "And he is nothing but a bull- 
 driver, after all." In that time of supreme agony, I 
 would have sacrificed every advantage of birth, educa- 
 tion, talent, and professional skill, and changed places 
 with that uneducated, despised, bull-driving Greaser, 
 merely to have received in turn the gift of the ability 
 to perform the trick of throwing down a horse. My 
 foot struck a stick of wood, such as is used for burn- 
 ing on the locomotives, which was lying on the 
 ground, and I instantly stooped to get it, determined 
 to beat the brains out of the brute with it, or at least 
 stun him into insensibility, and then pull him into the 
 opening. It was frozen fast in the ice, and I could not 
 tear it loose, though I put forth strength which seemed 
 herculean, in the frenzy of my excitement. It occurred 
 to me that I had a pocket-knife, and I might cut his 
 throat; but the train was almost upon me, and there was 
 no time for him to bleed to death ; this reflection did 
 not consume a second and a half. In my despair, I 
 gave one long-drawn yell — " Help! " No answer came. 
 The train rushed on, as it seemed to me, with light- 
 
A NARROW ESCAPE. 2I - 
 
 ning speed, upon the clown grade, and the light of the 
 locomotive head- lamp already fell upon me. Ten 
 seconds more, and there would be a terrific crash, 
 and a pile of broken cars ; and crushed, bleeding and 
 dying men would burst through the side of the shed, 
 and go rolling down the mountain side. Deadly faint, 
 and convinced that all was nearly over, I staggered 
 against the side of the shed, closed my eyes, and sank 
 half down to the ground. I heard Jerky give a sud- 
 den snort of terror, and opened my eyes. He had 
 discovered the danger at last, and comprehended it 
 all in an instant. The train could not have been more 
 than thirty feet from him, when he made one tremend- 
 ous jump, and went through the opening. The beam 
 caught the hi<jh Mexican saddle, tore it into fragments, 
 and frightfully lacerated his back, but his weight, and 
 the strength which mortal terror gave him, carried him 
 through, and he fell in the snow outside. I sprang 
 after him, just as the locomotive came abreast of me, 
 and fell, trembling, exhausted and fainting beside him. 
 I don't think the engineer saw us at all. I did not 
 see him, so far as I could remember afterward. It 
 was half an hour before I could gather strength enough 
 to regain my feet. When I did so, I got my ex- 
 hausted and bleeding horse upon his legs, and replaced 
 the wreck of the saddle upon his lacerated back, se- 
 curing it, as well as I could, with some thongs cut 
 from the edge of the rein, and my pocket-handker- 
 chief, torn into strips, and prepared to resume my 
 journey. In a canon, filled with the black shadow of 
 the mountain, I saw what appeared to be the dim 
 
•2t> 
 
 WAITING UNDER THE MADRONO. 
 
 outlines of several cabins. That must be Camp No. 
 10. Pulling my limping steed after me by the bridle, 
 I made my way slowly and painfully down to the 
 nearest cabin, and knocked at the door. "Git!" was 
 the response which came to the third or fourth knock. 
 I repeated the knocking. "Git! you drunken son of 
 a gun ! You have been yelling around here long 
 enough! Leave — or I'll put a bullet through you! " 
 came in decided and most emphatic tones from within. 
 I called out that I was the doctor from Camp — , not 
 the man they mistook me for, and wanted to know if 
 that was Camp No. 10, and if John Smith was there 
 — John Smith, who was dying, and wanted the doctor 
 so bad. There was a moment's debate in whispers, 
 between two or more persons inside ; then I heard 
 the scratching of matches and the shuffling of heavy 
 slippers over the floor, and at last the door was 
 opened, " Be you the doctor? Well, you are a pow- 
 erful weak-looking young chicken for a doctor!" said 
 John Smith — for it proved to be he — after he had 
 held the candle to my face, and deliberately scrutinized 
 my person for some seconds. 
 
 "You sent for me, I think, Mr. Smith?" 
 
 "Well, yes, I did send for you; but I'm kinder 
 sorry now that I did, for I have concluded to go over 
 thar to-morrow on business, anyhow." 
 
 "But the messenger said you were dying, or the 
 next thing to it — almost dead, I think he said." 
 
 " Well, yes, I was pretty considerable scared at the 
 time. You see I had a eruption come out right bad 
 on my leg, and I was afraid it might be pleurisy, or 
 
GJT ! 
 
 219 
 
 new-amonia, or erysifilus, or suthin o' that sort, and 
 if I come over in the snow and catched cold in it, I 
 might 'a gone in." 
 
 He sat down on the side of his bunk, and pulled up 
 the drawers from his right shin: there was a patch of 
 ringworm there, about the size of a silver dollar — and 
 that was all. I made use of some strong expressions. I 
 don't often swear, but I felt aggravated, under all the 
 circumstances, and considered myself justified. I still 
 so consider. Mr. Smith heard me through. Then he 
 arose majestically to his feet, and thus relieved himself: 
 
 "Young man! I jest put you up for a derned fool, 
 on first sight — an' I wan't sold much! Ef you hain't 
 got no more sense nor to git mad 'bout trifles, you'll 
 have many a long day ter wait 'fore you'll be called 
 on again to visit this camp — an' it's goin' to be a right 
 lively camp in the spring, you bet ! I did perpose to 
 ask yer ter take a drink, bein' as how it's late, an' you 
 must a' had a purty good ride over the mounting ; 
 but now, I'd jest see yer blessed first. Thar's the 
 door ; git ! you derned, ornary, wizened, contemptible 
 little scrub, an' don't come foolin' around here no 
 more, ef yer don't want ter git hurt! Git!" 
 
 I took his advice, and "got" without another word, 
 just as the gray dawn began to streak the sky over 
 beyond the Washoe mountains. 
 
 There they come at last! I can see their horses 
 winding around the ridge across the canon yonder. 
 Bill, unpack the basket, and have everything in readi- 
 ness for the lunch. Hunters, fishermen and clergy- 
 men generally have powerful appetites. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 AROUND THE MOUNTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 The Fountain of Youth. — Hunting for Trouble. — Mike Durfee's Snake. — The 
 Days cf '49. — A Tragedy in ihc Redwoods. — When shall Wc Three Meet 
 Again? — Story of the Champion Mule of El Dorado. — How a Green Down- 
 Easter Struck it Rich. — Result of Misplaced Confidence — Sensational Re- 
 ports Deprecated. — Out-Door Amusements in Arizona. — An Alarm in 
 Camp. — The Mountains by Moonlight. — Parting under the Madrono. — 
 Adios ! 
 
 Nowhere on earth, I think, does one so relish 
 food and drink as around the camp-fire. On the 
 treeless plains of the West and Southwest, in the 
 iwgfed. Indian-haunted mountains of Western Texas 
 and Central Arizona, even on the bare, hot sands of 
 the deserts of Nevada and Southern California, there 
 is always a weird attraction, and a sense of hearty 
 enjoyment in the evening around the camp- fire. 
 Some of the happiest hours of my life, many of them, 
 I may say, have been spent around the camp-fire, and 
 ever and anon the old longing" for wild life and dan- 
 srerous adventure comes over me even in the busiest 
 hours of city life, and the desire to shake civilization 
 and all its comforts and refinements, and go back to 
 the wilderness, becomes almost uncontrolable. The 
 charm of danger is year by year being lost to camp 
 life in California, but exciting adventure may still be 
 found, and there is nothing equal to a glowing camp- 
 fire to bring out anecdotes of the past and re-awaken 
 (220) 
 
CAM FIX G OUT. 22I 
 
 the recollections of the wild life of other days ; or, as 
 Beranger would express it : 
 
 " The bra\e days when we were twenty-one." 
 
 And of all places on earth for solid comfort in camp 
 there is none like California. The pure, dry, mount- 
 ain air is always so healthful and invigorating - , and the 
 nice, dry ground is worth all the spring mattresses in 
 Christendom for a bed. And then it never rains in Cali- 
 fornia during the spring, summer and autumn months. 
 Given a shot-gun, a rifle, fishing-tackle, blankets to 
 sleep in, a frying-pan, coffee-pot and cups, a little 
 Hour, salt, pepper and a few sundries, and a bunch of 
 matches, and, with two or three jolly companions — it 
 is none the worse if the party is half made up of ladies, 
 so that they are possessed of sense and know how to 
 rough it and enjoy it — your " outfit" is complete. 
 
 " Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay." 
 
 Better one month of camp life in the California 
 mountains, than years on years of life at the fashion- 
 able "watering-places" and "summer resorts" of the 
 East and Europe. 
 
 Ponce de Leon sought in vain for the Fountain of 
 Youth in the swamps and forests of Florida — he was 
 looking in the wronij direction. I found the fountain 
 years ago up in a quiet canon, under the madrono 
 trees, in the mountains of California; and every time 
 I drink of its waters and camp by its side, Time, at 
 my bidding, turns back in his flight, and I am only a 
 boy again. 
 
 We lunched with such hearty satisfaction, and found 
 the mountain air and scenery so much to our liking, 
 
2 22 
 
 AROUXD THE MOU.VTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 that we were loth to leave it and return to the city. 
 So we took a vote on the proposition, decided to go 
 into camp for the night at least, and, having dispatched 
 Bill to Calistoga for blankets and cooking apparatus, 
 proceeded to make ourselves at home. 
 
 There are always people who will go poking around 
 hunting for trouble and disagreeable things wherever 
 they happen to be. Curse all such people, I say ! 
 What is the use of it? "Sufficient unto the day is 
 the evil thereof," is the wisest saying between the lids 
 of the bible, and I travel on it. We had one of these 
 people in our party, and he knocked around in the 
 bushes until he found a rattlesnake. It did not bite 
 anybody, and was not looking for anybody to bite, 
 and if it had not been stirred up with a stick and set 
 to rattling, no one would have known it was there. 
 As it was, it frightened the ladies and destroyed the 
 pleasure of the party for hours. More fool the man 
 who found it. 
 
 I can recall one incident in my lifetime, and one 
 only, in which snakes had a healthy effect and ren- 
 dered a service to humanity. Some ten years ago 
 the San Francisco bar numbered among its members 
 many jolly, good fellows, who were given to free in- 
 dulgence in the pleasures of the table, and not un- 
 frequently passed the limits of prudence, and wrestling 
 too ardently with old King Alcohol, were thrown and 
 severely hurt. Among them was Mike Durfee, now 
 a strictly temperate man, a successful lawyer and an 
 exemplary citizen, after nearly all his old associates 
 have succumbed and passed away. When Mike 
 
DICK D URFEE. 22 - 
 
 "went on a tear" it was a long and desperate one, 
 and its result was a foregone conclusion. The report- 
 ers for the daily press of San Francisco were sitting 
 one morning - in their special quarter in the Police 
 Court room, taking notes of the trials and sentences 
 of the thieves, vagrants, burglars, wife-whippers, drunk- 
 ards, and all other offscourings of humanity who at- 
 tend the daily levees of his honor, when Mike, who, in 
 pursuance of his time-honored custom, had been "run- 
 ning all night," and was just on the debatable ground 
 between sudden reform and delirium tremens, came 
 in, and leaning up against the partition which separ- 
 ates the reporters from that of the shysters, fell fast 
 asleep. Seeing him in that position, the writer 
 reached over to the chair always occupied by poor 
 
 old Dick R (Rattlesnake Dick, as we used to call 
 
 him by way of affectionate endearment, was a special 
 favorite with all the reporters of that day), and pulled 
 out a little roll of curled hair from the cushion. This 
 hair was rolled into a hard wad, about the size of a 
 large marrowfat pea, and dropped quietly inside of 
 Mike's shirt-collar, where it lodged without in the 
 least disturbing his slumbers. The morning wore on 
 and the business of the day was nearly concluded, 
 and still Mike slept on. At last a case was called, in 
 which Mike was interested, or supposed to be, and 
 the bailiff in attendance shook him by the shoulder, 
 with the emphatic adjuration, "Here Mike, wake up; 
 your case is called! " Mike awoke with a start, and 
 stepping out promptly in front of the Judge's desk, 
 *hrew out his right arm in oratorical style, began — 
 
22 a AROUND THE MOUNTAIN CAMP I-IRE. 
 
 " Your honor, I propose " At that instant the ball 
 
 of curled hair, which had been confined between his 
 shirt-collar and his neck, set free by the change in his 
 position, commenced rolling down his chest upon the 
 unprotected cuticle, like a spider with ten thousand 
 sharp, clawed feet, going after his prey in a hurry. 
 Mike felt it, and every nerve in his system thrilled in 
 response, as if struck by the shock from a galvanic 
 battery. Springing about four feet clear of the floor, 
 he yelled in wild despair, "Whoop! Hell's Blazes! 
 Snakes!" and came down with a jar which shook 
 the whole room, with hair on end, eyes in frenzy 
 rolling, and face of the hue of death; fairly gasp- 
 ing for breath, he snatched at his collar convulsively, 
 tore it open, and following the descending serpent 
 with desperate haste, tore every button off his shirt 
 bosom in succession, grasping the dread monster at 
 last as it paused in its career at its waist, where his 
 pants were cinched so tightly that it could go no fur- 
 ther, drew it forth, with hand trembling so that he 
 could scarcely hold it, and sank faint, sick and help- 
 less into a chair. Meantime the commotion in the 
 Court room was something indescribable. The Judge 
 sprang to his feet in astonishment and ill-concealed 
 apprehension; the spectators and members of the bar, 
 under the impression that Mike had gone suddenly 
 crazy, or been violently attacked with the delirium 
 tremens, were seized with a panic, and upsetting chairs, 
 benches and each other in their haste to get out of 
 his reach, fled from the room, as the demon fled from 
 the chamber where the fish of Tobit lay — probably 
 
"SNAKES IN I1IS BOOTS." 22 r 
 
 holding his nose as he did so — while to crown the 
 uproar and confusion, a tall policeman who had been 
 sitting with his feet braced against the large upright 
 stove, and his chair tipped back, straightening himself 
 out in his effort to rise and join in the flight, sent the 
 stove end over end on the floor, the long pipe follow- 
 ing suit, and coming down on the affrighted crowd 
 joint by joint, flinging clouds of sticky ccal-soot and 
 smoke in all directions. When the stampede was 
 over at last, and Mike had so far recovered from his 
 attack of snakes as to be able to comprehend the situ- 
 ation, he arose, tottered over to the reporters' desk, 
 
 and thus freed his mind: "By , if I murdered the 
 
 man who put that centipede in my bosom, any jury in 
 Christendom would render a verdict of justifiable hom- 
 icide! But, boys, it's my next deal, and I'll be 
 
 if you ever get a chance to play that on me again ' 
 If it had got down into my boots I'd never have drawn 
 another sane breath so long as I lived. As it is, I'll 
 never draw another drunken one, damn you ! " 
 
 And Mike kept his word like a man, stopped drink- 
 ing entirely, devoted himself to the practice of his 
 profession industriously, rose step by step in public 
 estimation, and now holds an important office, to 
 which he was elected by the votes of his life-long 
 friends and acquaintances, many of whom to this day 
 tell with infinite gusto and roars of laughter the story 
 of Mike Durfee's snake. 
 
 We built a glorious camp-fire in the little opening 
 like an artificial clearing in front of the great madrono, 
 and with the remnants of our lunch and the spoils of 
 
 15 
 
22( 3 AROUND THE MOUNTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 the forest and mountain streams, got up a supper that 
 a prince might envy. Did you ever roll a mountain 
 trout in wet paper or green leaves and roast him like 
 a potato in the hot ashes? If not, you have yet to 
 learn the first lesson in gastronomic enjoyment. 
 Soyer was a fool ! I will match a California mount- 
 ain trout so cooked against all the "made dishes" he 
 ever produced, and trust to any jury on earth for a 
 verdict in my favor ; no, in favor of the trout, I mean. 
 After supper, when we had made up our quarters for 
 the night and gathered ourselves comfortably around 
 the blazing camp-fire, the fun commenced. Few of 
 the stones brought out on such occasions will bear 
 the test of repetition in print. It wants the mountain 
 air, the wild, romantic surroundings, the jolly com- 
 panionship and good fellowship to give them the 
 hearty zest which makes them so enjoyable at the 
 moment. How quickly the "forty-niners" go back 
 to the mining- camps and the wild scenes of those 
 early days, and live over again the life of the pioneer 
 gold-hunters, who poured in a torrent over the Sierra, 
 and, in an almost incredible space of time, searched 
 every canon, nook and crevice of the mountains for 
 the precious metal, tore up the soil of every hillside 
 from Siskiyou to Fresno, marring and disfiguring the 
 whole face of nature for all time, and then leaving 
 their cities and villages, which had sprung up like 
 Jonah's gourd in a single night, to fall to decay and 
 slowly disappear from sight, and almost from memory 
 even, scattered far and wide over the whole earth, 
 little dreaming of the true wealth of El Dorado 
 
VAN1TAS VAMTATUM! 22 - 
 
 which they left, untouched and undeveloped, for a 
 priceless heritage to those less adventurous souls 
 who should come slowly plodding after them in 
 other years. Of all that mighty host, not more 
 than one in a hundred remains in California to-day. 
 In neglected graves, in the red earth of the Sierra, 
 in the shadow of the cross of Calvary, under the 
 laurel and willows of Lone Mountain, in the ereat 
 depths of the sea, in the trenches of innumerable bat- 
 tlefields, in far-off Australia or Southern Africa, in 
 Alaska, in Arizona, in Mexico, in Nicaragua, they 
 sleep their last sleep. 
 
 Wherever gold was to be sought for, wildernesses 
 to be reclaimed, suffering to be endured, blood to be 
 shed, they wandered, and fought, and died by thou- 
 sands, They were a rough set — ready with the knife 
 and the revolver, free-handed and liberal withal to the 
 last degree — rich to-day, poor to-morrow, hopeful 
 always, and game to the last. When the placers of 
 California are exhausted, and the orchard and vineyard 
 cover every hillside, the stories of their reckless ad- 
 ventures and wild career will be repeated again and 
 again, and listened to with interest by every class in 
 the community. "The days of '49" will ever be 
 memorable as marking the most striking and wonder- 
 ful epoch in the history of the Pacific coast. After 
 thern everything will seem stale, and flat, and tame to 
 the youthful reader of history. 
 
 As the hours of evening wore on, one and an- 
 other took up the story of pioneer life, and many an 
 anecdote, new to me and hitherto imprinted, was 
 
22 g AROUND THE MOUNTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 related by eye-witnesses. Among them was the 
 following: 
 
 After the first rush to the placers, and when the 
 building of permanent towns had fairly commenced, 
 lumber fit for building purposes became in great de- 
 mand, and in the forest near the sea coast, where 
 transportation was readily obtainable, immense camps 
 sprung up, and the scenes of the flush times in the 
 mines were repeated. Lumber was worth hundreds 
 of dollars per thousand feet, and money was gained 
 and lost with a lavishness and rapidity almost incred- 
 ible in these days. In one camp in the redwood for- 
 ests of Humboldt, not far from the present town of 
 Eureka, there were some six hundred men at work, 
 and business was lively, in every sense of the word. 
 There were two "stores" at which articles for miners' 
 and lumbermen's use — heavy clothing, groceries, pro- 
 visions, and notably whisky and card.: — were dispensed 
 at round prices. Every store in those days was a 
 saloon, and a gambling- house as well; and poker, 
 monte, faro and fights were the order of the day and 
 night. It was no uncommon thing for a prosperous 
 gambler on a Sunday morning to knock the head out 
 of a barrel of whisky, put a tin cup in it, and set it in 
 the middle of the store, for all comers to help them- 
 selves free of charge. And it was the dearest whisky 
 man ever drank at that, for nine out of every ten who 
 partook of it left from ten to a thousand times its 
 nominal value at the gambler's bank before he went 
 home that night. The feast of Belshazzar was nothing 
 to the wild carousals which took place sometimes in 
 
KANOFFSKY. 22 g 
 
 that camp. There were six of us in our cabin — no 
 two from the same State, I think — and a pretty good 
 crowd we were generally. But whisky and gambling 
 will tell in the end, and they did on us. Among the 
 party was one tall, linely-built, athletic man, of some 
 twenty-eight or thirty years of age, who went by the 
 name of "Kanoffsky." The name would indicate a 
 Polish Jew, but he was evidently nothing of the sort, 
 and the name was like that of half the others in camp, 
 merely assumed through caprice or the desire to con- 
 ceal identity while the possessor was laboring to re- 
 trieve a broken fortune or a ruined character. I 
 always thought that he was a collegian, probably a 
 graduate of Harvard or Yale, and he was undoubt- 
 edly a New Englander of good family. Curiously 
 enough, his boon companion was a rough, uncouth, 
 uneducated Missourian, who went by the common 
 nickname of "Pike," about the last man in the world 
 one would think to attract the sympathy and secure 
 the confidence of an educated ofentleman, such as 
 "Kanoffsky" evidently was. But misfortune and 
 mininof excitements make strange bed-fellows. Their 
 intimacy was casually remarked upon by everybody 
 in camp, but in those days we thought little of any 
 social phenomena — we had little time or inclination 
 to think long and seriously about anything — and for 
 a long time nothing important seemed to come of it. 
 But at last an event occurred which startled and ex- 
 ceed the whole camp. One dark, stormy Sunday 
 night in the mid- winter season, when the wind roared 
 through the forest in broken, savage blasts, and the 
 
2^0 
 
 AROUND THE MOUNTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 rain fell in torrents, at briet intervals snatches of star- 
 light intervening-, Kanoffsky and Pike were absent 
 until far past midnight, and we had all retired to our 
 bunks with a certain undefined feeling of impending 
 trouble, which every one has felt at times, but which 
 no one can ever fully explain and account for. At last 
 Pike, with an uncertain step, was heard coming in 
 alone. He seated himself before the huge loo- fire, 
 which had burned well down, but still gave off a 
 rudely glow from its great heap of fresh coals, par- 
 tially lighting up the entire cabin, and drawing off his 
 wet boots, remained toasting his feet for some time 
 in moody silence. To inquiries as to the whereabouts 
 of Kanoffsky, he replied somewhat testily that he did 
 not know: that he had left him down at the stores 
 half drunk early in the evening, and knew nothing 
 more about it. His manner was peculiar, and pro- 
 duced the impression on myself and companions that 
 he had been in difficulty with some one, probably 
 over some gambling affair, and was " out of sorts, " as 
 well as a little drunk. While he sat there over the 
 fire, one of our party got up, went outside and brought 
 in another back log, which he threw upon the fire to 
 prevent its burning out entirely before morning, and 
 compelling us to rekindle it with matches and wet 
 wood — a task of some difficulty. As he turned back 
 from the fire, he remarked, "I stumbled over some- 
 thing outside there which I cannot make out ! It felt 
 like a bag of shot!" Pike looked up uneasily but 
 said nothing;. The man who had been out took a 
 brand from the fire and stepping back to the door, 
 
FOUL PI. AY. 2-21 
 
 stooped down and examined the object over which he 
 had stumbled. With a puzzled air he lifted it up and 
 brought it inside. It was, as he had said, like a bag of 
 shot, and proved to be a shot-bag filled with gold- 
 dust. There was blood in great blotch.es on the bag. 
 We all sat up in our bunks to look at it, and the in- 
 quiry broke from each in succession as to whom it 
 belonged. 
 
 " Well, damn you, if you all must know, it's mine!" 
 growled out Pike at last. 
 
 " Where the mischief did you get such a bag of 
 dust as that ? " said one. 
 
 Pike, who now seemed now to be half drunk and 
 half crazy, replied, "Well, it's none of your damned 
 business anyhow ; but if you must know, I got on a 
 little spree down at the camp, and some of us cleaned 
 out that Jew store." 
 
 Starting from my bunk, I exclaimed: " Boys, there 
 has been murder here, sure as heaven. That old Jew 
 and his son never submitted to be robbed while they 
 had the breath of life left! Pike, you must consider 
 yourself a prisoner." 
 
 The words were hardly out of my mouth, when 
 Pike sprang up, and grasping me by the throat hurled 
 me back upon the bunk with a savage imprecation, 
 swearing that he would kill me on the instant if I did 
 not take them back. All three of my companions 
 were on him at once, and though he struggled like a 
 madman, as he was, we got him down at last and 
 tied him. Then he suddenly changed his tunc, and 
 tried to laugh it off. It was only a joke, he said, and 
 
2 ~ 2 AROUND THE MOUNTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 nobody had been hurt. Untie him, and he would go 
 back at once with the dust. 
 
 We were more convinced than ever that there had 
 been murder, and one of the party volunteered to ride 
 over to the main camp, some mile and a half distant, 
 and find out what had occurred, while the other three 
 kept guard over Pike. He started off and was gone 
 about two hours. Just after daybreak he returned 
 with a crowd of companions, all deeply excited. They 
 had gone to the Jew's store, found it closed but not 
 locked up, and on entering with lights, had beheld a 
 spectacle frightful beyond the power of words to de- 
 scribe. The store was kept by a Jew of some fifty-live 
 ■or sixty years of age, and his son, a boy of eighteen or 
 nineteen, both of whom usually slept in the place. 
 The old man lay on the floor of the main store-room, 
 horribly chopped and mutilated with a hatchet, his 
 skull fractured, jaw broken, one ear chopped off, and 
 a great number of cuts on his head, face and breast, 
 but still breathing. The floor was covered with blood, 
 like that of a slaughter-house, and the marks of a 
 desperate struggle for life were everywhere visible. 
 In the back room they found the boy literally hacked 
 to pieces and cold in death. The drawers had been 
 forced open and rifled, and a trunk, kept under the 
 counter and used for storing gold dust, coin and val- 
 uables, for want of a safe, stood smashed open and 
 •empty on the floor near the body of the old man, who 
 had evidently fallen in attempting to defend it from 
 the robbers, who had entered by the front window 
 and rear door simultaneously. The news spread like. 
 
MURDER WILL OUT. 2*1% 
 
 wildfire through the camp, and in a short time Kan- 
 offsky, who had been out in the woods, undoubtedly 
 hiding his share of the plunder, was arrested on his 
 way back to our cabin. The party arrived at our 
 place, provided with a rope, and fully prepared to 
 make Pike open his mouth, and tell the whole story, 
 or "swing for it" instanter. At the sight of the rope 
 he weakened, and related how it was all done. 
 
 The party, consisting of four persons — himself, Kan- 
 orTsky and two others who had escaped on horse- 
 back to the mountains and were never arrested — 
 had planned the robbery some weeks before, and 
 waited patiently for a dark night to carry it into exe- 
 cution. After the robbery and murder, Pike, in a 
 spirit of recklessness or insanity — he could never give 
 any reason for his conduct — started directly for our 
 cabin, intending to hide the bag of gold-dust in a hol- 
 low stump, or some similar receptacle convenient to 
 the place, until he could get it safely inside the house; 
 but finding none in the darkness, brought it on until 
 he reached the door, then laid it down where it was 
 found, and went in to think the matter over and de- 
 cide how he should dispose of it. Had one of our 
 party not gone out to get the log to replenish the 
 fire, it is probable that he might have succeeded in 
 getting it hidden after all, and possibly escaped sus- 
 picion of being connected with the murder, as the two 
 of his companions who escaped would naturally have 
 been credited with the entire transaction. 
 
 A Lynch Court was organized immediately, Kan- 
 offsky and Pike tried, found guilty, and sentenced to 
 
,,„, AROUND THE MOUNTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 be hanged. All business was suspended for the day 
 in the camp, and nothing else was thought or talked 
 of. 
 
 Kanoffsky denied all connection with the affair from 
 .first to last, and the place where he had hidden his 
 share of the plunder was never found, though search 
 was made for it for years. 
 
 A similar murder was committed in Tuolumne 
 county in 1851, and the money, amounting to several 
 thousand dollars in coin, buried by the murderers 
 near the cabin. It was sought after for years, but it 
 -was not until twenty years later, in the summer of 
 1 87 1, that a party of miners sluicing away the hillside 
 where the cabin had stood, unearthed it and shared 
 the spoil between them, all the original actors in the 
 tragedy having passed away meantime. The plunder 
 hidden by Kanoffsky may possibly be unearthed in 
 some such manner years, or centuries even, hence. 
 When the execution took place a minister was sent 
 for, and he labored earnestly for hours with the mur- 
 derers Pike and Kanoffsky, but all in vain — not a sign 
 of repentance or contrition did either give. Led out 
 at last to the tree on which they were to die, the 
 halters were placed around their necks, and they were 
 asked if they had anything more to say. Pike said 
 he had told the whole story and had nothing more to 
 say. Kanoffsky called me to him, and, holding out 
 his hand, said, "Well, good by, old fellow; I can't 
 
 blame you! When it's all over, write to my ■ " 
 
 He stopped there, thought a moment, and then said, 
 "No, you needn't though; it is belter as it is! Here, 
 
A WAKING REALITY. 2 -r 
 
 take this handkerchief out of my breast-pocket, and 
 do me the favor to tie my hands securely behind me. 
 I might go up after the rope and make the entertain- 
 ment too lengthy. It is getting - late, and the audience 
 will want to adjourn as soon as possible. Please slip 
 the knot a little further around in front so that it will 
 come just under my ear. All ready ; now go on with 
 the performance!" The cart started off on the in- 
 stant — down went both the men, their bodies swayed 
 convulsively in the air for a few moments, and all was 
 over. 
 
 Who or what Kanoffsky was we never learned, the 
 secret of his real name and history dying with him. 
 That night all hands in camp went on a general spree, 
 and the carousal was kept up until far towards day- 
 break. The keeper of the other store furnished the 
 liquor, and got blind drunk on it himself before the 
 spree was over. Everybody admitted that he kept 
 very mean liquor. Among the crowd were two young 
 fellows, less intoxicated than the rest, and they finished 
 up the performance by going out and cutting down 
 the bodies of Kanoffsky and Pike, bringing them into 
 the store, and setting them them up against the wall. 
 They then took the storekeeper, propped him up be- 
 tween them, and left him alone with the dead. When 
 he awoke from his stupor next morning and looked 
 around him, the face of a ghastly corpse, with the 
 rope still around its neck, grinned at him from either 
 side ; and on the floor at his feet were scrawled with 
 chalk the familiar words : "When shall we three 
 meet again!" He went out of that place on the 
 
2 .,(3 AROUND THE MOUNTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 dead jump, yelling "murder" at the top of his lungs, 
 and it was days before his nerves became quiet enough 
 to enable him to mix a cocktail with anything like his 
 accustomed skiil and neatness. 
 
 Practical jokes were common in those days, and the 
 jokers were by means fastidious as to the manner of 
 playing them or their result. . If life and limb were 
 endangered, so much the better. I remember a man 
 in Placervillc, then called "Hangtown," from numer- 
 ous little episodes in its history, which had resulted 
 disastrously to parties involved in them, who owned 
 a mule, which was admitted to be the champion animal 
 for pure, unadulterated viciousness on the Pacific coast. 
 He would start on the slightest hint. The rattle of a 
 tin pan was poison to him ; and in running away, he 
 always made it a point to knock down and injure 
 somebody. If he stampeded, and did not get a chance 
 to kill or maim some one, he felt he had to account 
 for a day wasted, and would stand for hours in deep 
 dejection, his ears hanging down limp and lifeless ; 
 then suddenly rush across the street, whirl around and 
 kick with all his might at a child or woman, by way 
 of getting even and making up for lost time. It was 
 a standing joke with the jolly boys of Hangtown to 
 lend him to a party of newly arrived miners, to pack 
 their traps to some placer mining-camp, and at the 
 hour for starting gather in front of the express office 
 to see him go off like a rocket, scatter everything 
 right and left, and break for the chaparral, leaving 
 the astonished gold-hunters to gather their traps and 
 
BEWARE OF THE MULE. 
 
 *37 
 
 lament over the blasting of their prospects at their 
 leisure. It was as much as a man's life was worth to 
 go within reach of his heels ; and it was necessary to 
 muzzle him to keep him from eating everybody who 
 came within reach of his jaws. One day a remark- 
 ably green specimen of the veritable "down-east 
 Yank" came into Hangtown from the plains, and in- 
 quired for the nearest and best place to make a for- 
 tune in the diggings. He was kindly directed to a 
 promising gulch, and, as he was hard up, the use of 
 the champion mule to pack his grub, tools, blankets 
 and traps was generously tendered him. He pro- 
 posed to start at eight o'clock next morning, and all 
 the jokers in town, comprising the larger share of the 
 male population of the place, were on hand at the ap- 
 pointed time to see him off. Promptly at the time, the 
 greenhorn from the land of steady habits made his 
 appearance, and commenced to pack tha mule. The 
 heavy aparcjo was placed on his back and securely 
 cinched ; flour, beef, bacon, etc., etc., strapped on that, 
 and then a miscellaneous collection of pans, kettles, 
 shovels, picks, etc., etc., corded on top of all, and the 
 load was completed. Up to this time the mule had 
 stood there as quiet as a lamb, but the fun, as all save 
 the greenhorn in that goodly company well knew, was 
 about to commence. The owner of the mule invited 
 all hands to take a drink, at two bits a glass, and the 
 invitation was cheerfully accepted. They all shook 
 hands with the victim, and bid him God speed on his 
 journey as he came out of the saloon and made ready 
 to start. The piazza and sidewalk were crowded, and 
 
2 ,g AROUND THE MOUNTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 everybody was ready to yell at the moment the sig- 
 nal was given. Judge of the surprise, indignation and 
 disgust which took possession of the crowd, when 
 they saw that infamous mule walk off like a pet lamb 
 with that confiding victim of their pleasantry, and dis- 
 appear in the distance without so much as giving a 
 snort, a kick, or even a parting look behind him at 
 the friends and companions of his youth! The owner 
 of the mule watched him until he disappeared over 
 the hill, then invited all hands in to take another 
 drink. He was dead beat, dumbfounded and non- 
 plussed. What influence could have been at work on 
 the brute to induce him to thus suddenly go back upon 
 every tradition of his race, and forfeit his long and 
 well-earned reputation, he could not for the life of him 
 imagine, and he got blind drunk while puzzling his 
 mind over the problem. 
 
 It was noon when the greenhorn reached the gulch 
 to which he had been directed, and presented a note 
 from the owner of the mule to his partner, who was 
 mining there in a claim, which had formerly paid hand- 
 somely, but was then nearly worked out. The wink 
 went around the mining party when the letter of in- 
 troduction was read, and on the innocent victim in- 
 quiring for a " first-rate spot to dig out the gold in big 
 chunks," he was directed to a tree up on the side 
 hill, some two hundred feet above the level of the 
 gulch, as a first-rate point at which to stick up the 
 usual notice and commence. The victim meant busi- 
 ness. He did not propose to waste any time in look- 
 ing around, and at his request one of the party wrote 
 
AN UNEXPECTED E1ND. 
 
 og 
 
 him out a mining-claim notice, which he at once posted 
 on the tree as directed. There was not the trace of 
 a "color" anywhere near that tree. In fact, it was 
 evident to the eye of a professional miner at a glance 
 that ofold would never be found there. But the green- 
 horn, in blissful ignorance, pulled off his coat, rolled 
 up his sleeves, and went in at once to dig a prospect- 
 ing hole. The party in the gulch below saw him 
 gradually sink down into the earth and disappear, as 
 hour after hour he plied the pick and shovel with 
 sturdy arm and determined will, and many were the 
 "winks and nods, and wreathed smiles," to say noth- 
 ing of broad grins and hearty guffaws which went 
 around at his expense. About four p. M. they heard 
 a shout from the prospecting hole in which he had 
 disappeared, and a moment later he came cut with a 
 bound like a deer, and yelling like a madman, came 
 down the face of the hill twenty feet at a jump, hold- 
 ing high above his head a nugget, or "chispa," of pure 
 gold, weighing over $900. All was excitement in the 
 camp in a minute. The chispa was examined and its 
 character decided at once. Then they examined the 
 hole, and decided that he had struck upon a pocket, or 
 seam, of decayed quartz, where the gold set free had 
 not been washed, and had remained undisturbed in its 
 place. Such pockets often paid enormously. A lucky 
 Irishman once found one near where the Catholic Or- 
 phan Asylum now stands, on the hill above the town 
 of Grass Valley, took out a wheelbarrow-load of gold 
 in a few hours, went raving mad over his suddenly 
 acquired wealth, and died in the State Insane Asylum. 
 
2 „ AROUND THE MOUNTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 Even as late as October, 1871, such a pocket was 
 struck by a drunken Swede, near Georgetown, El 
 Dorado county, and he took out $100,000 in a single 
 day, then went on a drunk, which he has not yet got 
 over. 
 
 Such pockets are good things to have. The com- 
 pany in the gulch, in which the owner of the mule was 
 a large stockholder, after some bargaining, bought the 
 claim for $10,000, paid him down in gold-dust and 
 orders on their partners, and hurried him off for 
 Placerville early next morning, lest he should repent 
 of his bargain and want to back out. Next mornincr 
 they were at work there bright and early, while he 
 was collecting his money in Placerville, and getting 
 ready to "go down to the Bay" — i. c, to visit San 
 Erancisco. This was on Wednesday. The mule was 
 delivered to his delighted owner, and, in consideration 
 of his good services, enjoyed tall feed in a livery- 
 stable for the rest of the week. His proprietor, 
 anxious to inspect his new source of untold wealth, 
 hired a horse and started at once for the gulch. 
 
 On Saturday he returned with a face as long as the 
 moral law, and black as a thunder-cloud. The party 
 who purchased the victim's claim, himself included., 
 had worked it for three days in succession, and given 
 the whole side hill a thorough prospecting. They 
 found two small nuggets, aggregating about $12, the 
 first day ; nothing on the second ; and the third day 
 was even as the one before it. They were sold, bilked, 
 swindled, wronged, out and injured to the tune of 
 $10,000. What became of the greenhorn they could 
 
DOUBTFUL GREENNESS. 2/ . l 
 
 never discover, and to this day they have the impres- 
 sion very strong- in their minds that he was a "fraud 
 from the word go," never saw Massachusetts in his 
 life, and had put up the whole job on an unsuspecting 
 and confiding community. If he had ever visited 
 Hangtown again, the place would have earned an 
 additional claim to its popular designation. But that 
 guilty mule received his reward. On the morning 
 following the return of his affectionate proprietor from 
 the gulch, he was found in his stall with his back 
 broken. It was suo^rested that he had dislocated his 
 vertebrae in the vain effort to kick a fly off the end of 
 his nose with his hind feet, or in attempting to reach 
 the roof of the stable with his heels, there being noth- 
 ing else in reach for him to exercise his strength upon 
 in a playful manner; but his heart-broken owner knew 
 better, and wisely kept his own counsel. As an ex- 
 pert and a life-long advocate of the decencies and 
 amenities of life, I give my unqualified professional 
 opinion that it was done with a club — and served him 
 right. A few such examples as that unworthy mule 
 afforded would utterly dissipate and destroy all one's 
 confidence and trust in human nature. 
 
 Rough practical jokers though these old miners and 
 frontiersmen always are, they are proverbially sensi- 
 tive to newspaper criticism, and ready at all times to 
 resent any liberty taken with their names or reputa- 
 tions. In an earlier chapter I have related how the 
 man who fell from the roof of a three-story building 
 on the corner of Montgomery and California streets, 
 
 in San Francisco, compelled me to retract the asser- 
 10 
 
2 . 2 AROUND THE MOUNTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 tion that, as he fell past the second story window, he, 
 seeing - a party inside playing seven up, and noticing 
 that the dealer was turning the Jack from the bottom 
 of the deck, called out "None of that!" It is ten 
 to one that if the owner of that black-hearted mule 
 is still living, and ever reads the above truthful account 
 of his adventure, he will sue me for damages for libel 
 on account of the insinuation as to the manner of the 
 death of the animal. 
 
 It is only two or three years since an old and val- 
 ued friend, a kind-hearted, energetic and determined 
 frontiersman, to whom I am indebted for many an act 
 of true politeness and hospitality in a country where 
 such words have something more than a conventional 
 meaning, wrote to me as follows : 
 
 Wickenburg, Arizona, , 186-. 
 
 Dear Col.: — We have had a very unpleasant affair 
 here this week. Dick Snelling, whom you will re- 
 member, got on a spree, and being told that a Chilcno, 
 or a Portuguese, had threatened his l'fe, got a shot- 
 gun and started hunting him on the street. 1 Ic un- 
 fortunately met a man who looked like the man he 
 was hunting for, and shot him dead, and in the ex- 
 citcment of the moment scalped him. Now, you 
 know that I never favored scalping white men, but 
 Dick is as good a fellow as ever lived, and if he had 
 not been drunk he would not have done it. He has 
 got a nice family, and for his sake and for theirs I 
 would not like to see an exaggerated account of the 
 affair get into the papers. Will you oblige by seeing 
 that no sensational account of it is given in San Fran- 
 cisco ? Your friend, 
 
BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON. . - 
 
 Willing' to oblige a iricnd at all times, I gave merely 
 the simple facts, without displayed headings as com- 
 ments, and all was lovely 
 
 The camp at last is quiet ; the last story has been 
 told, and the tellers, one by one, all save myself, have 
 dropped off into the arms of sleep. All is silence in 
 the mountains. Not a breath of breeze disturbs the 
 foliage of the trees, and outside the camp not a liv- 
 ing object is to be seen. The moon, which had risen 
 over the eastern mountains, floods valley and hill, 
 forest and mountain, with golden light, beautifying 
 and glorifying the whole landscape with its touch. 
 The glassy green leaves of the great madrono over- 
 head glow and glisten in the moonlight like a cascade 
 of molten silver, and the dark laurels beyond the 
 canon are transformed into a golden-foliagcd grove, 
 such as glitter, rank on rank, by the banks of the 
 rivers of Paradise 
 
 A dog which accompanied us on the expedition 
 raises his head from time to time, and peers furtively 
 into the dense chaparral, uttering a low, uneasy whine. 
 His ears are sharper than ours, and he is conscious of 
 the presence of an enemy unknown to us. Suddenly 
 he springs to his feet, and, darting past the dying fire 
 to the edge of the chaparral, utters a wild, angry bark, 
 and in an instant a heavy body goes crashing away 
 through the bushes, with a long, sharp " Yap-yap-yap- 
 yah-hoo-ooo!" From the hillside above, from the 
 canon in the shadow below, from rock and glen, and 
 glade and chaparral, comes a quick response ; and for 
 
244 AROUND 7 HE MOUNTAIN CAMP FIRE. 
 
 five minutes it seems that there are half a thousand 
 instead of half a dozen angry, prowling coyotes howl- 
 ing around us. The infernal chorus dies away at last, 
 and once more all is silent in camp and on the moun- 
 tain. 
 
 The grey dawn creeps slowly over the eastern 
 mountains ; the horizon takes on the roseate hues of 
 the inner surface of the sea-shell, then glows with 
 gold and royal purple ; and, as the forest air is filled 
 with the song of birds, and all nature rejoices in the 
 glory of the springtime, the sun rises grandly over 
 St. Helena, and the whole landscape glows like mol- 
 ton gold at his touch. On the bank of the grand 
 canal, between Lakes Chalco and Tezcuco, in the val- 
 ley of Mexico, stands a fonda, upon whose wall is 
 painted the inscription, "A La Sol de California." 
 Who can stand here and behold such a scene as this, 
 and not sympathize in his inmost heart with the author 
 of that inscription? 
 
 And here, companions in my wanderings, friends 
 of my heart, I leave you, one and all, and reluctantly 
 say good bye ! 
 
 Together we have galloped through the valleys and 
 climbed the mountains in search of health, curious ad- 
 venture, strange sights and scenes, and the beautiful 
 in nature, in the glorious land of the madrono. Per- 
 chance we have not accomplished all we anticipated, 
 when we started out; have missed something for 
 which we sought ; failed in something which we de- 
 sired. But we have seen much to remember, some- 
 thing that was new and strange, and cheated care 
 
ad/os. 245 
 
 and toil out of some right pleasant hours. I trust 
 that you have been repaid for your trouble, and en- 
 joyed yourselves as I have. If so, I am glad, and we 
 may at no distant day renew our acquaintance, and 
 in broader fields and other lands seek for grander and 
 more stirring adventure. But, in any event, let us 
 still be as we have been, good friends ; and as we 
 part this morning here beneath the madrono tree, 
 let us shake hands all round, as is the goodly custom 
 of the country., and say with reverent sincerity, each 
 to each — Adios! 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE CHINESE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 
 
 Weird and Ghostly Scene in a Chinese Temple at Midnight. — The Story oi 
 Concatenation Bill, and the True History of the Great Indian Fight on the 
 Gila. 
 
 What a strange, peculiar people are these Chinese! 
 Dwelling among us, they are not of us ; but are born 
 and grow up, and toil and die here in the midst of the 
 boasted civilization of the nineteenth century, just as 
 they have been being born and growing up, and toil- 
 ing and dying, for ages on ages, in the "Central 
 Flowery Empire" on the other shore of the blue 
 Pacific. They walk the same streets and breathe the 
 same air with us ; but they do not talk the same lan- 
 guage ; do not act as we act ; do not reason as we 
 reason ; do not think as we think. From the cradle 
 to the grave, the Chinaman is always a Chinaman, 
 adhering to the traditions of his ancestors, walking 
 in the footsteps of his fathers, careless of the appro- 
 bation or reprobation of the rest of mankind, except 
 so far as it may affect him pecuniarily- Keen at a 
 bargain, naturally quick-witted and sharp of compre- 
 hension, a patient toiler, and skillful at every kind of 
 handiwork to which lie turns his attention, he yet 
 halts unaccountably on the shore of progress, and is 
 (246) 
 
A CURIOUS BELIEF. 2 A7 
 
 the best representative living of the effete civilization 
 of Asia, wedded to the traditions of the past, looking 
 ever backwards and never forwards. All things to 
 all men, in commercial transactions, and wonderfully- 
 enterprising in his own way, he is a law unto himself; 
 and our politics and ambitions, our industrial problems, 
 and the amenities of our social life, are but as vanity 
 and vexation of spirit to him, and he will take no 
 part in them. 
 
 Among the strangest of the strange customs which 
 the Chinese have transplanted on American soil, is 
 the annual "Feast of the Dead." Heaven comes 
 nearer to the land of his birth than to any other land, 
 and before he leaves it for barbarian regions he pro- 
 vides for the ultimate return of his bones for inter- 
 ment in the soil where his ancestors, in countless 
 millions, sleep the last sleep. Meantime he believes 
 that the spirits of his departed friends linger lovingly 
 near the place where their bodies rest for the moment ; 
 and so long as he remains within reach of their tem- 
 porary resting-place, he, ever true to the traditions of 
 his race, pays an annual visit of ceremony to it, and, 
 with a solemn gravity which is incomprehensible to 
 the average Caucasian mind, makes an offering of 
 creature comforts for the delectation of the disem- 
 bodied spirits with which his imagination peoples all 
 the air. 
 
 All Chinese festivals come at irregular periods, 
 for the reason that their months do not correspond 
 with our own, and they throw in an odd month from 
 time to time to make the year come even, as we do 
 
248 
 
 THE CHINESE FEAST OF THE DEAD 
 
 an odd day on our leap year. The feast of the dead 
 came some years since in May, and I well remember 
 visiting the Chinese quarter of Lone Mountain Ceme- 
 tery at that time to witness the ceremonies. Their 
 New Year festivities are accompanied by an incessant 
 roar of burning fireworks: crackers of every size, 
 from those which pop in the slightest and most deli- 
 cate manner, to those which make a report like a 
 young cannon, are burned by the cartload at a time ; 
 but the feast of the dead is a more quiet and solemn 
 affair. The rich merchants, clad in the costliest silk 
 and broadcloth, go on the first day, riding in the finest 
 carriages procurable, and followed by express- wagons, 
 loaded with pigs roasted whole, rice, fancy dishes, 
 liquors, and other eatables and drinkables without 
 number. A messenger or herald rides on the outside 
 of each carriage, and as he ^oes alonof throws off, 
 right and left, handfulls of squares of thin, yellow 
 paper, in the centre of which is a small, impressed 
 character, or a bit of gold or silver foil, for what pur- 
 pose I could never ascertain. Next day, the artizans 
 and manufacturers go in plainer carriages, clubbing 
 together to make a load; on the next, the poor la- 
 borers and public women, riding in overcrowded ex- 
 press-wagons, carrying their meat-offerings with them 
 in the same vehicle ; and on the last day, the miser- 
 ably poor, the rag-pickers and garbage collectors, 
 trudge humbly along on foot over the dusty road to 
 the city of the dead, each carrying in his hand the tri- 
 fling offering, which his extreme poverty permits him 
 after months of economy to provide for the occasion. 
 
THE SECRET OF CHARITY. 
 
 249 
 
 At the cemetery the graves are almost buried beneath 
 the offerings of yellow papers, which arc blown about 
 by the winds until they form in drifts, like the snow 
 in the streets of the cities of the Atlantic coast. Red 
 candles, of vegetable wax, are lighted and stuck in 
 the ground by thousands ; and a cloth being spread 
 upon the ground at the foot of each grave by its par- 
 ticular visitor, the feast is arranged upon it, the cups 
 filled with sam-shoo, tea, etc., and then the living 
 friend, bowing with solemn politeness, invites the dis- 
 embodied spirit or spirits to come and help themselves. 
 After that, he walks around and chats gaily with his 
 living friends, smokes, drinks a little rice wine, and 
 then, quietly packing up the eatables, which are none 
 the worse for the service they have done, and placing 
 them in the wagon again, spills the drinkables on the 
 ground, and returns to the city (proudly conscious of 
 having done his duty well, like a man and a C — hina- 
 man), to dine upon "the funeral baked meats" himself. 
 The spirits, as their name would indicate, take only 
 the etherial part of the feast, and the living men get 
 the most substantial, and to them at least most valu- 
 able portion of the comestibles. 
 
 An old and venerable member of the Christian 
 church — a bright and shining lio-ht of the faith, who 
 resides at Auburn, New York — once told me, while 
 cn^a^ed in distributing tracts in the English lancaiasfe, 
 
 00 cs 000' 
 
 which they could not read, to the poor native Pro- 
 testants of Mexico, that he had learned, from long 
 experience, that the true secret of Christian charity 
 was to be able to do o;ood unto others without cost- 
 
2 r THE CHINESE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 
 
 ing yourself a cent. He had followed out that idea 
 all his lifetime, and the Lord had so prospered him in 
 things worldly and things spiritual, that he was more 
 satisfied, day by da)', that he was on the right track, 
 and had the thing down to a science. 
 
 The Chinaman has not been able to quite come 
 up to this standard in his observance of the cere- 
 mony of the feast of the dead, but he comes pretty 
 near it, and in a few thousand years more may suc- 
 ceed in reaching it ; but he will be a terribly mean 
 Chinaman when that time arrives! 
 
 The feast of the dead, like our Christmas services, 
 winds up with social gatherings, friendly reunions, a 
 "feast of reason and a flow of soul," and a good time 
 generally. The Buddhist temples are then decked out 
 in strangely fantastic style, quite unintelligible to the 
 white American. The ceremonies at the temple at 
 this time appear to be devoid of any marked religious 
 character. 
 
 This year — 1872 — the feast of the dead came late 
 in August, and I had the honor of assisting. We 
 were going home at midnight (a party of half a dozen, 
 who had been indulging in that peculiar little game 
 at which if you don't bid you lose, and if you do bid 
 you go back and lose two bits more, so much affected 
 in California on the last night of the feast), and had 
 stopped at the corner of Dupont and Washington 
 streets, to listen to the babel of many tongues, 
 the screeching of the Chinese one-stringed fiddles, 
 the dulcet notes of the tom-toms, and the clashing of 
 the gongs in the gambling-houses, where infatuated 
 
A STRANGE PROCEEDING. - , 
 
 Celestials were betting themselves poor at the game of 
 "Tan," or in the restaurants where others were dining 
 convivially. It was a glorious moonlight night, such 
 as one rarely sees, save on the Pacific coast, or in the 
 tropics. The whole air was loaded with the fumes of 
 burning "joss sticks," or incense candles, made from 
 powdered sandal wood, fragrant gums, etc., the blue 
 smoke of which rose from every door- way, open win- 
 dow, crack, crevice, or cranny in the houses where 
 the blue-bloused sons of China conm-e^rate, resting on 
 the Chinese quarter like a fog on a Jersey salt-marsh, 
 or a cloud of mosquitoes on a Mississippi river-bot- 
 tom. While we were standing there, a party of Chi- 
 nese boys placed a row of these little joss-sticks up- 
 right along the edge of the gutter by the sidewalk, 
 leading down to the centre of the block northwards, 
 and set them all burning at once. As the cloud of 
 fragrant smoke rose up from them, a well-dressed 
 Chinaman appeared and directed a servant where to 
 place a large tray, or salver, on which was neatly ar- 
 ranged a hot lunch, prepared in the most attractive 
 style of the first-class Chinese culinary artist. The 
 lunch being duly arranged on the edge of the side- 
 walk, he kneeled before it, chin-chinned repeatedly 
 until his forehead nearly touched the curbstone, and 
 then, to avoid the curious and irreverent throng of 
 Caucasians, who were fast gathering about him, arose 
 and hustled away the lunch into the house from which 
 he came. A huge mass of curiously curled, and 
 twisted, and convoluted, and cornuted — and I don't 
 know what not else — tissue paper, forming some em- 
 
2 5 2 
 
 JHE CHINESE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 
 
 blematic figures, which resembled in shape, and color, 
 and design nothing which Caucasian mind ever con- 
 ceived, or could comprehend if described — and I 
 don't know how to describe it — was lying in the 
 street in front of the line of joss-sticks, and, as he 
 arose to go, a boy touched off a pile of fire-crackers 
 concealed within it, and in an instant it disappeared in 
 a blaze of glory. This appeared to be a part of the 
 programme. 
 
 We followed along the line of joss-sticks, and found 
 that it terminated at the entrance of the narrow pass- 
 age which leads in between two gambling-houses to 
 the centre of the block, where stands the Buddhist 
 temple, erected by the famous Chinese physician, Li- 
 po-Tai, in demonstration of his gratitude to twie Su- 
 preme Intelligence for his escape from instant death 
 some years since by a gas explosion, which killed his 
 companion, and disfigured him for life. A crowd of 
 visitors, Chinese and Caucasian, were moving in and 
 out, and we passed in with the throng. At the end 
 of the passage we came to a stairway, which zig- 
 zags up on the outside of the tall brick building to 
 the upper story, terminating on a balcony hung with 
 Chinese lanterns of the most brilliant and striking 
 patterns, each as large as a flour-barrel, from which 
 you enter the temple proper. At the last landing, 
 below the top of the stairway, we stopped to look at 
 a gigantic statue representing a "devil-man" sentinel, 
 placed in an alcove, in a half-sitting, half-standing 
 position, menacing the intrusive unbeliever, seeking 
 for the Holy of Holies, with outstretched arm and 
 
" S EH A ME." 2 ^ " 
 
 fist doubled up, like a pugilist's in a prize-fight. A 
 hideous mask answered for a face, while the eyes, 
 lighted up from within, glared on the visitor with 
 something of the weird effect produced by 
 
 " Torches which have burned all night, 
 Through some impure, unhallowed rite," 
 
 When viewed by the true believer. The devil- man 
 winked inquiringly at us, and we winked back at him, 
 said "Pi-ess," and then passed on unmolested. One 
 of the party observed this pantomime, and enthusi- 
 astically exclaimed, " Well, you fellows of the press 
 have got a good thing of it, haven't you ? If I don't 
 mean to practice that, and try it on, when the time 
 
 comes, on old St. Peter, may the " We requested 
 
 him to spare our sensitive feelings, and he did so, and 
 did not finish the sentence. 
 
 The temple was ablaze with light, crowded by a 
 wondering throng, filled with the choking blue smoke 
 of the incense, and as hot and close as the furnace- 
 room of an ocean steamer in the tropics. The images 
 representing Buddha, or Foh, the guardian deities of 
 the southern, middle and northern districts of China, 
 the Queen Mother of Heaven and her attendants, the 
 black gentleman of whom it is always safe to speak 
 respectfully, if not admiringly, and other objects of 
 mingled admiration and contempt to the average Chi- 
 nese mind, were all on their shrines in the different 
 apartments or halls of the temple, and the usual 
 lamps were burning before them. But the visitors 
 appeared to pay no attention to them, and, for the 
 time being, at least, regard them with no respect. 
 
o -, THE CHINESE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 
 
 The extraordinary decorations for the occasion 
 formed the attraction for the evening - . Fronting- the 
 great folding door — on the wings of which are paint- 
 ed a hideous monster, armed sentinels, etc., depend- 
 ing from the ceiling by crimson silken cords — hung a 
 whatnot-like arrangement, representing in miniature 
 the stage of a Chinese theatre, upon which a "celes- 
 tial star dramatic company," in all the elaborate silk 
 and gold embroidery, decked garments, etc., which 
 pertain to their wardrobe, was grouped with really ar- 
 tistic skill and effect. The scene represented a tab- 
 leau in one of their historic dramas, and each figure, 
 which was from two and one half to three feet in 
 height, was a perfect counterpart in miniature of one 
 of the well-known Chinese actors of the Jackson- 
 street theatre, which is visited by every stranger 
 from the east of the Rocky Mountains, who comes to 
 see the wonders and curiosities of California. The 
 features, which were of some hard material like plas- 
 ter of Paris, were moulded with such cunning skiJ, 
 that the expression was as perfect as life itself; and 
 each actor could be recognized in an infant by any 
 person who had seen him once upon the real stage. 
 Five similar groups, each representing a scene in a 
 play illustrating the history and traditions of the Cen- 
 tral Flowery Empire, hung in different parts of the 
 same principal apartment. In one corner we saw two 
 curious phantom horsemen, mounted on nondescript, 
 half human, half animal, phantom steeds. The frame- 
 work of these figures was of the lightest split-rattan, 
 and the superstructure light tissue paper of various 
 
THE TWIN GIANTS. 2 - c 
 
 brilliant colors. "What do they represent?" we 
 asked of a polite Chinaman, who came bowing out of 
 a side room to meet us, and show us around free of 
 charge. He told us forty graceful fictions in ten 
 breaths, and was "joshing" us all the time. I did not 
 blame him, for two reasons: first, he did not know 
 himself; and, secondly, his people are an imaginative 
 race, and it is the custom of the country — their coun- 
 try, not ours, I mean, of course. In China — blessed 
 country! — there are no professional politicians, and 
 the lying is more evenly distributed among the peo- 
 ple than with us. 
 
 But the greatest attractions that night were two mon- 
 ster statues, twin giant ghost- warriors, who stood on 
 either side of the hall in front of the m~eat altar. These 
 
 o 
 
 figures were each fully eighteen feet in height, and 
 were perfectly proportioned. They were costumed 
 in half-armor, worn over longf robes of the most bril- 
 liant hues, elaborately ornamented and embroidered, 
 and each wore the cap of a high mandarin, surmounted 
 by the crimson ball, indicative of the first rank, and 
 a tall, variegated plume. The face of one had some- 
 thing of serene dignity and power in beatific repose 
 upon it, and he held his right hand aloft, with the 
 thumb, fore and fourth fingers slightly bent, and the 
 middle and third fingers nearly straight — as do always 
 the images of Buddha, or Foh, the representations of 
 the incarnation of the Supreme Power and Intelli- 
 gence, which are seen upon every shrine of the faith- - 
 while the right foot rested upon and crushed down to 
 the earth a hideous, open- mouthed, writhing dragon. 
 
2 -5 THE CHINESE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 
 
 The second was the counterpart of the first in all, 
 save that his face was covered by a hideous, frowning 
 mask, his raised right hand was open, with the palm 
 turned full toward the spectator, and with his loot he 
 trampled a snarling and struggling yellow and black 
 spotted tiger. We asked the meaning of these giant 
 figures of our obsequious Chinese attendant, and, as 
 before, he told us a cock-and-bull story as gigantic in 
 proportion as the figures themselves. The excuses 
 urged in his behalf in the first instance are equally 
 good in this. 
 
 We ascertained that the statues, like the phantom 
 horsemen, despite their imposing appearance, were 
 nothing but rattan, tissue and gilt paper, and bits of 
 looking-glass — trifles light as air, almost, which even 
 a breath might knock over and demolish. If they 
 were intended to represent ghosts of the mighty dead 
 of the days when there were giants in the land, they 
 came near the mark ; for anything more thin and un- 
 substantial to all the senses, save that of sight, could 
 never have been conceived. Only the cunning hand 
 of a celestial artist could have put them together, 
 preserved their anatomical proportions, and made 
 them stand there, erect, the very impersonation of 
 hollow imposture. We noticed that the celestial 
 crowd laughed and talked, and wandered about with- 
 out the slightest regard for the religious character of 
 the place, and we came away amused and interested, 
 but not a whit the wiser for any insight into the hid- 
 den meaning of all this pageant — if any meaning 
 there was — than when we came. 
 
CO AT A TEN A 7 VOX BILL. 
 
 257 
 
 Coming back to Dupont street, I met a man whom 
 1 had last seen while on a hostile raid into the Hual- 
 apai Indian country, in Arizona, and our conversation, 
 after the first greetings were over, turned upon one 
 of the strange, peculiar characters with which the 
 Pacific coast abounds — one we had both known — old 
 "Concatenation Bill." 
 
 When and where he picked up the sobriquet, or it 
 picked up him, we never knew ; but, once attached 
 to him, it became a part of his personality, and stuck 
 to him thenceforth, through good report and through 
 evil report, for the term of his natural life, and will 
 be inscribed upon his tombstone, should fortune so 
 far change her mood as to permit him to have one, 
 which is a matter for doubt. It was doubtful if he 
 knew himself. It was probably all he had to show 
 for his months of labor in some early mining-camp, 
 when he left it ; and, as the camp itself is doubtless 
 long since played out, and numbered with the things 
 which have been, but are not, what matters it where 
 it was located, or who toiled in it? In any event, it 
 usurped the place of the name given him in baptism 
 —if he ever was baptised — and, like most California 
 nicknames, was appropriate. 
 
 " You are out of luck," said a rough-looking miner, 
 to whom he had detailed his misfortunes, wanderings 
 and misadventures for an hour. 
 
 "Out of luck! Well, I wish to Heaven I was; 
 you may gamble on that; but I ain't. Why, God 
 bless you, stranger, I'm just in a perfect streak of 
 luck from morning to night, and from one year's end 
 
2 -g THE CHINESE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 
 
 to another ; and the cussedcst luck ! Why, I have 
 had more luck than would sink a ship, and have got 
 it yet !" 
 
 I will be just to the memory of my departed friend ; 
 he had. 
 
 He came across the plains in '49. He started with 
 a good outfit supplied him by friends in Illinois, who 
 fitted him out "on shares" as a speculation. He left 
 them confident of large dividends, and those who are 
 yet above ground are still waiting for them. His best 
 horse was stolen from him on the first night out from 
 "St. Joe," and he traded off the other and the double 
 harnesses for a yoke of oxen, with a cow thrown in. 
 One of his oxen was gobbled up by Indians on the 
 Platte, and having sold, given away, or thrown away 
 half his provisions to lighten his load, he started on 
 with the cow yoked in with the remaining ox. 
 
 The cow pegged out on the headwaters of the 
 Humboldt, and he abandoned his wa^on and rode the 
 remaining ox down to "the Sink," where it also gave 
 up the struggle, and left him alone in his misery. 
 From thence he made the remainder of the journey 
 on foot, camping by night with any family or party 
 who would give him a supper and the use of a spare 
 blanket. 
 
 All things must have an end some time, and he 
 finished his journey at last, arriving at Placerville late 
 in the autumn, worn out, ragged, and seedy to the 
 last degree — the very impersonation of persistent 
 bad luck — but still hopeful of the future, and obtained 
 a situation as waiter at a hotel, with good wages. At 
 
A MATRIMONIAL TAKE-IN. 2 -^ 
 
 the end of the second month, he actually had money 
 ahead, and being of a commercial turn of mind, tried 
 his hand at "busting-" a faro bank. He did not quite 
 succeed in the operation — he never quite made a suc- 
 cess of anything he undertook — but he won eleven 
 hundred and eighty dollars nevertheless. 
 
 There was a gushing young lady, who tended bar 
 in a dance-house in Placerville, who had made his ac- 
 quaintance before he made this "ten-strike," and now 
 she suddenly discovered that he was a really good- 
 hearted fellow, and not bad-looking. She suggested 
 that it would be a good thing for them to go into 
 partnership, matrimonial and financial, and start a hotel 
 at Coon Hollow, a new and promising camp not far 
 from Placerville — which was then more familiarly 
 known as "Hangtown." The financial partnership 
 was to be immediate and absolute; the matrimonial 
 one, conditional and prospective. The arrangement, 
 though it might have pleased him better if slightly mod- 
 ified, on the whole met with his approval ; they rented 
 the hotel, and she started clown to Sacramento to 
 purchase the necessary outfit for the bar before start- 
 ing in at " keeping tavern." She took his money with 
 her, and — did not return. Bill borrowed fifty dollars 
 of a sympathizing friend, followed her down to Sacra- 
 mento, and there learned that she had cfone "to the 
 Bay" in company with a big red-headed fellow, known 
 as "Sandy Bob," who came out with her from New 
 York, and who, if not her husband, should have been. 
 "No use following any further after her!" 
 
 Bill knocked around Sacramento until his borrowed 
 
260 T11E CIIINE8E FEAST OF THE DEAD. 
 
 fifty dollars were all expended, then got a situation as 
 •"assistant bull-whacker" on an up train, and made his 
 way up into the mountains to Fiddletown, where he 
 came across a friend, who took him into partnership in 
 a placer gold-claim, which at the moment did not prom- 
 ise largely. They "struck it rich," for a wonder, in 
 two weeks sold out for a " big stake," and started for 
 San Francisco. On the way down the river, on the 
 steamer, Bill was induced to take a hand in a little 
 friendly game of draw-poker, just to pass away the 
 time, and succeeded not only in passing away the 
 time, but also with it all his own money, and all his 
 confiding partner's share as well. In San Francisco 
 he met with various adventures, finding temporary 
 employment in a dozen different kinds of business, 
 only to be thrown out of each in turn through some 
 unfortunate occurrence, and find himself "dead broke" 
 every time. When the Frazcr River excitement broke 
 out, he went up there, and came back "busted." Then 
 he joined in the mid-winter rush over the Sierra Ne- 
 vada to the newly-found Washoe silver mines, and 
 found his way back again in the spring as poverty- 
 stricken as ever. Then he drifted southward, fished 
 for sharks, and gathered abaloncs at San Pedro, and 
 for a time made himself generally useless on a stock- 
 ranch. The Arizona gold excitement of 1862— '63 
 took him across the desert to the Colorado River. In 
 the first camp he struck on the eastern side of the 
 Colorado River, he set to work with a will to secure 
 a valuable quartz claim — everybody was hunting up 
 and locating quartz claims at that time. He would 
 
CLAIMING AN "EXTENSION." 
 
 26l 
 
 go out in the morning- with claim-notices written out 
 in advance, and tramp over the red volcanic mount- 
 ains all day long - in the burning sun, vainly seeking 
 for an unclaimed lead. All the quartz leads in the 
 country appeared to have from one to a dozen claim- 
 notices stuck up on them. Just as hope was aban- 
 doning him, a friend suggested to try "extensions." 
 If he could not find new claims, he could at least 
 locate extensions on those taken up by others, and if 
 the original claims prospected well, his extensions 
 would eventually become valuable. The idea struck 
 him favorably. 
 
 Next morning he was off bright and early, with his 
 pocket full of ready-written extension claim-notices. 
 Luck was still against him ; he found extensions 
 located in every claim in the mountains. Late in the 
 evening he was making his way back to camp, foot- 
 sore, weary and dejected, when he stumbled upon a 
 claim-stake on a mesa at the head of a canon, and 
 getting down on his knees to examine it, was filled 
 with delight at the discovery that there was no ex- 
 tension-notice fastened to the other side of it. He 
 could not make out the words of the notice, but it 
 was a claim, and that was quite enough for him. Pull- 
 ing out an extension-notice, reading: 
 
 " We, the undersigned, claim 200 feet eacli on the first northerly 
 extension of this claim, and intend to work the same according to- 
 the laws of the United States and of this district. 
 
 (Signed) "John Smith, 
 
 "John - Jones el al." 
 
 he fastened it on the northern side of the stake, and 
 started on toward camp with a lighter heart. 
 
fo Til E CHINESE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 
 
 Descending into the canon, he came upon another 
 claim-stake, and repeated the performance of putting 
 up an extension-notice. Fortune had favored him 
 at last! Two extensions located within an hour — he 
 was a millionaire already, in prospect, at least, when 
 lie returned to camp. That night he hardly slept at 
 all. His heart beat high with hope — visions of un- 
 told wealth floated unceasingly before his half-closed 
 eyes. Next morning he was up betimes, and invited 
 his companions in the camp to go up with him before 
 breakfast and take a look at his locations. They went 
 up the canon and found that the last extension located 
 Avas the result of an error. All sorts of locations be- 
 sides mining-claims were being made — town sites, 
 mill sites, etc., etc.; the last claim on which he had 
 taken up an extension was for a slaughter- yard. The 
 discovery lowered his spirits a peg, but he was still 
 hopeful, and went on with the party up to the mesa 
 to examine the first location. 
 
 When they arrived at the stake, and Bill bent down 
 to read the notice, his face turned pale and he started 
 back affrighted, as did Robinson Crusoe when he saw 
 the footprint of the cannibal on the island of Juan 
 Fernandez. As I am a man and a Christian, he had 
 located and agreed to work an extension on a claim 
 for a graveyard 
 
 The joke got back to camp ahead of him, and Bill 
 shot out of the place an hour later, like a secojA f , \!ix ■ 
 zeppa, followed by a 
 
 • loud shout of savage laughter, 
 
 Which on the wind came roaring after," 
 
KILLING WHISKY. 2 ft^ 
 
 from the lungs of every prospector within a mile of it. 
 
 He paused in his flight at a new camp near La Paz, 
 and there had better luck for the moment. He loca- 
 ted on a small vein, or deposit, of "silver-copper 
 glance," and sold it to a San Francisco capitalist for 
 three hundred dollars. With this money he started 
 a modest and unpretending "dead-fall," proposing to 
 supply the honest miners with liquor and cards at a 
 handsome advance on original cost. The first day's 
 business was a success, and he began to entertain high 
 hope of a change for the better. Vain hope! On 
 the second day a stranger came into his shanty for a 
 drink, and fell down dead with heart disease before 
 reaching the counter. Bad news travels fast. In 
 half an hour the rumor had gone abroad through the 
 whole camp that the respected and lamented deceased 
 (who had emigrated from Northern California or 
 Southern Oregon on account of a lawsuit involving 
 the question of title to a horse) had died just after, 
 instead of just before, imbibing a glass of Concatena- 
 tion Bill's best whisky. 
 
 It was the warm season, and the gold and copper- 
 seekers of that district were an excitable set at any 
 time, with no wholesome restraint upon their actions 
 in the shape of courts and legal enactments. In an 
 hour fiftv men had assembled, and were encra^ed in 
 sampling his liquor, and testing it as a Committee of 
 the Whole, with a view of deciding whether it would 
 kill or not. It did not directly kill those who drank 
 it then and there, without paying a cent for it, but it 
 led to a fight, in which two honest miners were laid 
 
->6j. the ciiinese feast of the dead. 
 
 out with bullet-holes through them; and the indiof- 
 nant citizens, with the crude ideas of justice prevail- 
 ing among them, held him responsible for this result, 
 and immediately organized a Vigilance Committee, 
 with the intention of going for Bill as soon as day- 
 light came, to enable them to hunt up his hiding-place 
 k\ the chaparral. Luckily for him, he learned of their 
 good intentions in season, and before morning broke 
 over the Weaver Mountains, he broke in that direc- 
 tion himself. They heard of him the next day at the 
 Granite Wash, forty miles east of the river, and their 
 ardor having cooled down a little meantime, concluded 
 to drop the matter and pursue him no farther. 
 
 He next turned up at W T ickenburg, on the Hassi- 
 yampi, in Central Arizona. Wickenburg was a lively 
 place at that time. Jack Snelling was acknowledged 
 to be a capital fellow when perfectly sober, but in- 
 clined to be playful at times, and indulge in little prac- 
 tical jokes, which generally resulted in somebody 
 being sent out of town feet foremost, and perforated 
 like a colander. It so happened that Jack was fes- 
 tively inclined on the day on which Bill arrived, and had 
 been going around town compelling all the traders 
 to close their shops and go home, on pain of instant 
 death. Jack was much respected in that community, 
 and his will was law. As Concatenation Bill rode 
 down the single long, tortuous street which com- 
 prised the city at that time, Jack sighted him, and 
 mistaking him for a man who had once insulted him 
 by refusing to drink with him, went for him the mo- 
 ment he alighted, and thrashed him within an inch of 
 
MISTAKEN IDENTITY. 
 
 265 
 
 his life before he discovered his mistake. Bill ac- 
 cepted his apology and a drink, but thought that busi- 
 ness was opening a little too briskly in Wickenburg to 
 be permanent, washed the blood from his face, bound 
 a piece of raw beef on one of his eyes, and struck 
 out for a new location at sunrise next morning. 
 
 In the course of his wanderings, he was seen at 
 Hooper & Co's store on the Gila, and for a time was 
 at home around Tucson. 
 
 Two or three years after his adventure at La Paz, 
 Concatenation Bill came down Bill Williams' fork from 
 Prescott, near Date Creek, and for some weeks was 
 one of the fixtures of the Great Central Mining Com- 
 pany's camp, at the copper mines near Aubray City, 
 twelve miles above the mouth of the fork. Nobody 
 asked him to stop, and nobody seemed to care to in- 
 vite him to leave ; so he partook liberally of the hos- 
 pitalities of the camp, never missing a meal nor pay- 
 ing a red, until it was whispered round among the 
 miners that he was a heavy stockholder in the com- 
 pany, and it would be well to be on the good side of 
 him. 
 
 It was in midsummer, and the heat was something 
 terrible. All day long the naked red mountains ab- 
 sorbed the heat of the burning sun, and all nkdit lonof 
 they gave it back to the inhabitants, as the baker's 
 brick oven absorbs the heat of the burning wood fire, 
 and gives it back to the loaves within it, when the 
 coals and embers have been raked out. Sleep, until 
 far into the morning hours, was an impossibility, in- 
 doors or out, and the miners were wont to spread 
 
2 55 THE CHINESE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 
 
 their blankets on the floor of the long veranda, at the 
 Jiacicnda, and, lying down upon them, while away the 
 earlier part of the night, fighting mosquitoes and 
 swapping lies, which were about equally abundant at 
 that time in camp. 
 
 Some years previous to this time, the Mojaves of 
 the Colorado Valley, becoming tired of inglorious 
 peace, and panting for war and its triumphs and renown, 
 concluded to go on an expedition up the Gila, and 
 clean out the Pimos and Maricopas, their old friends 
 and allies against the Apaches. The campaign opened 
 auspiciously. The first skirmish resulted in the rapid 
 retreat of the Pimos, with the loss of four bucks and 
 one squaw, toward their main village, farther up the 
 valley. But the second fight resulted differently, and 
 the Mojaves retreated in confusion toward the Color- 
 ado, with the loss of half their force, and with their 
 thirst for military glory whipped clean out of them. 
 
 Now it happened, almost as a matter of course 
 since trouble was going on, that Concatenation Bill 
 was in the vicinity when the fight took place — or, at 
 least, had heard the particulars from some one who 
 had been — and, as was his custom, had worked up the 
 incidents and details into a wonderful romance, like 
 unto that of the adventures of the Cid, of which you 
 may be sure he was the central figure and hero, and 
 he never tired of relating it, with endless variations, 
 to any crowd who could be got to listen to the story. 
 No one about the camp knew aught to the contrary ; 
 so, for want of contradiction, the story was accepted 
 for its face, and became one of the acknowledged and 
 
BILL'S INDIAN FIGHT. 
 
 267 
 
 respected legends of the fork. But for an unfortunate 
 incident which I shall proceed to relate, it is probable 
 that it would have passed into history and been handed 
 down to posterity, with all the claim to reverence and 
 credence which attaches to the story of William Tell, 
 the tyrant Gessler, and the apple ; or the infant G. 
 W., his hatchet, and the old man's cherry-tree. 
 
 One day, just as the sun was sinking down in the 
 orange-hued western sky, and the sweating cook was 
 rinpfinsr the welcome bell to call the toilers at the mine 
 to supper, a game-looking young frontiersman, clad 
 in buckskin garments, and a broad-brimmed vicuna 
 hat, rode down the steep declivity of the red mount- 
 ain, and made his way into camp. He was tendered 
 the hospitalities of the place, as were all strangers 
 then, and turned in with the other "boys" on the 
 veranda at night. Stories came on in due course, 
 and, at a hint dexterously thrown out by one of the 
 party, Concatenation Bill started in with the true and 
 affecting history of the " Great Indian Fight on the 
 Gila." And thus he began : 
 
 " Well, you see, boys, the old chiefs of the Pimos 
 and Maricopas were all out of practice, and when 
 they found things had gone agin 'em on the first 
 fight, they looked about for a leader who knowed jest 
 how to put up the pins for a victory. Pretty soon 
 they pitched on me, and I drawed up the plan for the 
 next day's operations right away. I stationed the 
 braves at the right points, then laid for the Mojaves, 
 and got 'em. 
 
2 68 THE CHINESE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 
 
 "They came up the river, yelling like so many devils, 
 and drove our pickets in like chaff before 'em ; but 
 when I got 'em jest in the right spot, I give the word, 
 and we riz on 'em. I never did feel much compunc- 
 tion at taking life before, leastwise the life of a damned 
 redskin; but the fact is, that slaughter was dreadful, 
 and it came to be a perfect butchery before we got 
 through. I swear to man that the Gila riz over a foot ; 
 though mind, boys, I don't say it was all owin' to the 
 blood which ran into it. There was about two thou- 
 sand dead Mojaves a floatin' down the stream, an' it's 
 likely they lodged and choked it up at some pint 
 where it was narrer like, an' so set the water back, 
 more or less. Right in the thickest of the fight, when 
 it seemed for a few minutes as if the Mojaves — who 
 was game to the last; I'll say that in justice to 'em — 
 was goin' to get the best of us, after all, I sailed in 
 myself, and went for their big chief, and downed him 
 with a blow from the butt of my revolver ; an' I was 
 jest cockin' my weapon to give him a settler, when 
 old Icktbermirec, his second in command, an' about 
 half a dozen leftenants, lighted on me all at onst, an' 
 we clinched and went down all in a heap. I got one 
 arm loose, an' pulling out my old Arkansas toothpick, 
 commenced slashin' 'em right and left, when " 
 
 Concatenation Bill never told us what happened 
 after that. 
 
 When he commenced the story, the stranger, who 
 was lying some feet away, listened attentively for a 
 few moments, then rose slowly to a sitting posture, 
 and then to his feet. As the story progressed, he 
 
"A ROLAND FOR AN OLIVER:' 2 ^ Q 
 
 moved quietly toward the spot where Bill was lying, 
 and at length startled that worthy by suddenly ap- 
 pearing over him, towering up like a giant in the 
 moonlight, every feature convulsed with excitement. 
 
 " You did that, stranger ? " he yelled from sten- 
 torian lungs, every syllable being evidently enunciated 
 under pressure of rage suppressed, until it was ready 
 to burst him. 
 
 " Yes, me/" was Bill's slightly less confident reply. 
 
 The stranger bounded about four feet into the air, 
 cracked his heels together with such force that the re- 
 port sounded like that of a musket, swung his revolver 
 round to the front, so as to have it ready for instant 
 use, and as he came down yelled out: 
 
 "Well, by the great, horn spoon, stranger, that is 
 singular! There wasn't but one damned white man 
 thar, or I hope to be dropped into hell this minute ; 
 an' I'm the max ! " 
 
 The camp was as silent as death in an instant. 
 Every man expected to hear the report of a revolver, 
 or the sounds of a deadly hand-to-hand struggle, and 
 waited in breathless anxiety for the crowning catas- 
 trophe. 
 
 " You the man?" 
 
 ''Yes, by the bloody jumping tom-cats of Jerusalem, 
 me ! Take a good look at me, stranger. I kin jest 
 eat any ten men that dar dispute it." 
 
 The silence grew deeper. Concatenation Bill lay- 
 as motionless as a dead man for a moment, looking 
 up at his opponent in the moonlight, silently weigh- 
 ing him and taking his measure ; then apparently 
 
„ 70 THE CHINESE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 
 
 fully satisfied that he was a man of his word, and able 
 to carry out his promises, slowly turned over on his 
 side, drew the corner of his blanket up over his head, 
 and in a voice as free from excitement as that of a 
 child playing on its mother's bosom, drawled out : 
 
 " Well, I reckon that lets me out !" 
 
 A peal of laughter, wild and long, from all but two 
 of the party, rang out upon the still air of the desert, 
 and was answered on the instant by a loud yap- yap- 
 yap- ya-hoo-oooo, from the startled wolves which 
 were prowling around the camp by dozens. The 
 stranger stood there in silence and in doubt for a 
 moment, then walked sulkily back to his blankets and 
 lay down. Again, and yet again, the loud laughter 
 pealed forth upon the night, but not a word or sound 
 of any kind came from the blankets where Bill was 
 lying, to denote his consciousness of aught which was 
 going on around him. He had played that hand for 
 all it was worth, and was fairly raised out at last. 
 
 When the summits of the distant Harcuvar Mount- 
 ains were glistening with the rays of the rising sun, 
 the miners of the fork were up and stirring, as was 
 their wont. The breakfast-bell sounded, and a rush 
 was made for the dining-room. A familiar face was 
 missing, and for the first time in weeks there was a 
 vacant place at the table. Concatenation Bill was 
 gone. The camp which had known him so long was 
 to know him no more forever. In the grey dawn he 
 had stealthily risen, folded his blankets, packed up 
 his traps, saddled his hipshot mule, and as silently as 
 a ghost departed, not deigning even to say good bye 
 
"/nc y ac Err 2 ~ x 
 
 to anybody about the premises. What became ol 
 him we never satisfactorily ascertained. The road to 
 La Paz he had already traveled too often ; that to- 
 ward Salt Lake was Hualapais ; and that to Prescott 
 and Tucson was swarming with Apaches. Had he 
 taken "the road which Ward's ducks went? " We 
 shuddered at the thought, but he may have done so 
 in sheer desperation. 
 
 A few days later, the writer and a party of frontiers- 
 men friends paused beside a lowly grave on the road 
 to Skull Valley, over which some wandering Mexicans 
 had erected a cross of stones, in testimony of the sup- 
 posed fact that there rested the remains of a Christi- 
 ano. There was an empty bottle by the side of the 
 grave, and on the label the letters " C. B." Did they 
 stand for "Cognac Brandy" or " Concatenation Bill ?" 
 
 The party were about equally divided on the ques- 
 tion of the probabilities ; but it is a rule on the frontier 
 never to miss an opportunity out of respect to a mere 
 uncertainty; so from our pocket-flasks we reverently 
 drank to the memory of the illustrious departed, the 
 hero of the "the Great Indian Fight on the Gila;" 
 then rode away into new scenes and dangers new, and 
 thenceforth to all that reckless party, save the writer, 
 poor Concatenation Bill was as dead, and almost as 
 nearly forgotten, as 
 
 •'The little birds that sang 
 A hundred years ago." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A CRUISE ON THE BARBARY COAST. 
 
 Night Scenes in San Francisco. — Low Life. — Scene in a Recently Suppressed 
 Gambling House. — Visit to the Chinese Quarter. — How John Chinaman 
 Loses His Money. — The Thieves and Rounders of San Francisco. — Hew 
 they Live and where they Lodge. — The Dance-Cellars. — Opium Dens and 
 Thieves' Ordinaries of the Barbary Coast. — How the San Francisco Police 
 treat Old Offenders, etc., etc. 
 
 Every city on earth has its special sink of vice, 
 crime and degradation, its running ulcer or moral 
 cancer, which it would fain hide from the gaze of 
 mankind. London has its St. Giles, New York its 
 Five Points, and each of the other Atlantic and West- 
 ern cities its peculiar plague spot and curse ; it is even 
 asserted that there are certain localities in Chicago 
 where vice prevails to a greater extent, and life, virtue 
 and property are less secure than in others. San Fran- 
 ciscans will not yield the palm of superiority to any- 
 thing to be found elsewhere in the world. Speak of 
 the deeper depth, the lower hell, the maelstrom of 
 vice and iniquity — from whence those who once fairly 
 enter escape no more forever — and they will point 
 triumphantly to the Barbary Coast, strewn from end 
 to end with the wrecks of humanity, and challenge 
 you to match it anywhere outside of the lake of fire 
 and brimstone. 
 (272) 
 
THE PEOPLE WE MEET. 2 j~ 
 
 Stroll by daylight through the region bounded by 
 Montgomery, Stockton, Washington and Broadway 
 streets, and you will have but a faint idea, a very in- 
 adequate conception, of the real character of the 
 locality. A few red-faced, frowzy females will glance 
 inquiringly at you from their seats just inside the 
 doorways of the minor "dead-falls;" little dens, with 
 the bar stocked with well-drugged liquors — which to 
 taste is to look death in the face and defy him — on 
 one side of the front room, a sofa on the other, and at 
 the rear an arched opening hung with tawdry red and 
 white curtains, communicating with an inner room, 
 into the hidden mysteries of which you and I do not 
 care to penetrate. Spanish-American women, clad in 
 solemn black, and wrapped to the eyes in their dark 
 rebozos, fallen and hopelessly degraded, but still pre- 
 serving something of the grace of manner and speech 
 which distinguish the females of their race above all 
 others, flit quietly past, fixing their flashing black 
 eyes inquiringly upon your face, but making no salu- 
 tation. Chinese porters or "coolies," swinging heavy 
 burdens on the ends of pliant bamboo poles balanced 
 on their shoulders, and changed rapidly from side to 
 side as they trot quickly along, meet you at every 
 turn. A couple of small, wiry, supple little fellows, 
 with black skins, straight black hair, with little black 
 eyes which twinkle like those of a snake, carrying 
 huge baskets, filled with soiled clothing, on their 
 heads, may attract your attention next ; they are 
 Lascar or Hindoo washermen from the Laguna, in the 
 
 western part of the city, where they work. You will 
 18 
 
2 - . MONGOLIAN BELLES. 
 
 see coming forth from the various narrow alleys 
 which intersect the main streets, and are known by 
 the expressive designations of "Murderer's Alley," 
 "China Alley," "Stout's Alley," etc., any number of 
 Chinese females, clad in their loose drawers or pants 
 of blue or black cotton goods, straight-cut sacques of 
 broadcloth, satin, or other costly or cheap material, 
 according to their condition and social rank ; shoes of 
 blue satin, richly embroidered with bullion, and with 
 thick soles of white felt and white wood, anklets or 
 bangles, and bracelets of silver, gold, or jade-stone, 
 and lustrous blue-black hair, braided in two strands, 
 hanging down the back from beneath coarse-striped 
 gingham handkerchiefs, thrown over the head, and 
 tied beneath the chin as a badge denoting slavery, 
 and a life of hopeless infamy ; or, if the owner hap- 
 pens to be the wife of a laborer, tradesman or gam- 
 bling-house proprietor, wonderfully gotten up with a 
 species of transparent mucilage, and fashioned into a 
 rudder-like structure sticking out fully a foot behind, 
 supporting a number of skewer-like pins of gold or 
 silver, each six or eight inches in length, and putting 
 to shame by its size and cleanly appearance, the water- 
 falls of our Caucasian belles — shuffle along in groups 
 of three or four, talking and laughing- together like so 
 many little children, or exchanging compliments, 
 which would never bear translation into English, with 
 the male blackguards, loafers and plug-uglies of their 
 race. These women are intellectually only children, 
 and are more to be pitied and less condemned than 
 the fallen of their sex of any other race. Every sec- 
 
"THE COAST" BY DAYLIGHT. 27s . 
 
 oncl building- is occupied as a saloon, in which no- 
 body seems to be stirring, and has a basement, over 
 the door of which is painted the name of the estab- 
 lishment, as "The Roaring Gimlet," "The Bull's 
 Run," "The Cock of the Walk," "Star of the Union," 
 "Every Man is Welcome," etc., etc., but now closed 
 and apparently unoccupied. There are stra : ns of ear- 
 splitting music coming occasionally from the Chinese 
 gambling-houses, and from time to time, as you walk 
 along, you see rows of Chinamen seated at low 
 benches in basements, industriously engaged in mak- 
 ing up "every choice brand of Havana and Domestic 
 cigars," as the signs over the doorways inform you. 
 But for the most part, the dirty shops, saloons and 
 basements have a thriftless, tumble-down, hopeless 
 and half-deserted appearance, and you finally make 
 up your mind that you have stumbled into a part of 
 the town where nothing in particular is ever going 
 on, and which is in a great measure deserted and go- 
 ing into gradual but certain decline and decay. Such 
 is the "Barbary Coast" by daylight; but by gaslight 
 or moonlight it is quite another thing, and you would 
 find it difficult to realize that this was the sleepy, half- 
 deserted locality you saw in the morning. 
 
 It is Saturday evening - , in the middle of the rainy 
 season, when no work is doing upon the ranches, and 
 work in the placer mines is necessarily suspended, 
 and the town fairly swarms with "honest miners" 
 and unemployed farm-hands, who have come down 
 from the mountains and "the cow counties" to spend 
 their money, and waste their time and health in 
 
2 y 5 A CRUISE ON THE BARBARY COAST. 
 
 "doing" or "seeing life" in San Francisco. The 
 Barbary Coast is now alive with "jay-hawkers," 
 "short-card sharps," " rounders," pickpockets, pros- 
 titutes and their assistants and victims ; we cannot 
 find a better night on which to pay a visit to the 
 locality. Half a dozen of us, more or less, make up 
 the party, and we start out. The evening is pleas- 
 ant, and Montgomery and Kearny streets are filled 
 with the beauty, fashion, and wealth of San Francisco. 
 A military company, in brilliant uniform, with a full 
 and very superior band, returning from a target ex- 
 cursion, pass up the street, attracting the attention of 
 the throng lor a moment ; and then come, in turn, a 
 party of horsemen and horsewomen, gaily mounted, 
 coming in from the Cliff I louse at Point Lobos, or 
 just starting out for a night-ride, who dash down the 
 street at a gallop, are glanced at, criticised, and for- 
 gotten. The drift of the crowd is toward the various 
 places of amusement, and we go on with the tide. 
 Turning up Washington street, we stop in front of 
 what was, a few years since, the principal theatre, and 
 looking into a saloon adjoining the main entrance, 
 a scene which we witnessed there, less than three 
 years ago, is recalled vividly to our recollection. 
 There is a snug little saloon, and everything is as 
 neat and orderly and business-like in appearance as 
 possible. At the rear of the room is a green door, on 
 which hangs a card inscribed in large letters, "Club 
 Room — Now Open." Near the door sits a well 
 dressed, gentlemanly man, who scrutinizes the face 
 of each man as he passes through the saloon, and 
 
"ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE," ETC. 2 yy 
 
 seems to be connected in some mysterious manner 
 with what is going on in the interior room. Num- 
 bers of men, mostly young, and dressed like mechan- 
 ics or small shop-keepers, clerks, etc., enter the saloon 
 as we stand drinking at the bar, and pass quietly in- 
 side. At length a man approaches the inner door, 
 who is recognized by the man sitting in the chair 
 as an objectionable or suspicious character, and the 
 latter, with a quiet motion of the hand toward the 
 outer door, says, "I don't think, sir, the man you are 
 looking for is inside!" or, "This ain't the place for 
 you, stranger; better walk the other way;" and we 
 hear a noise inside as if a chain had been let down 
 and something had been bolted, which is quite likely 
 the case. The bluffed individual departs without a 
 word, satisfied that there is nothing to be made by 
 parleying, and we advance toward the door-keeper — 
 for such he really is — in turn. He looks sharply at 
 us, recognizes us by a quiet nod, and glances inquir- 
 ingly toward the rest of the party. "Only strangers 
 from New York ofoinof the rounds ; no shenane£an or 
 cops in disguise; honor bright!" we reply. "All 
 right ; go ahead!" and we enter the door, turn to the 
 right, go down a flight of steps, through a narrow pas- 
 sage, and, following the gas-lights, reach and enter 
 a third door ; passing which we find ourselves in a 
 wide, low hall, furnished with long tables covered with 
 glazed cloth, lighted brilliantly with gas, and crowded 
 with men who are gathering in groups around the 
 different tables. The air is close and. hot, and the 
 smell none of the most agreeable. Perhaps two 
 
278 
 
 A CRUISE ON THE BARBARY COAST. 
 
 hundred men are in the room, but there is no 
 hum of conversation, and even the smokers hardly 
 place their cigars to their lips often enough to keep 
 them lighted. At the tables are seated dealers, 
 dressed in long black robes, which completely hide 
 every article of every-day clothing which they have 
 on, with wire masks which conceal their features, 
 though partially transparent, and slouched hats, which 
 hide every trace of hair, making subsequent identi- 
 fication absolutely impossible. This is done to pre- 
 vent policemen — who will, in spite of every possible 
 precaution, occasionally get in, disguised in such man- 
 ner as to defy detection — from being able to identify 
 the dealers and prosecute them. The assistants of 
 the dealers are dressed in the same manner, and the 
 players never see the faces, recognize the clothing, 
 or hear the natural voices of the men with whom 
 they are, by a stretch of the imagination, supposed to 
 be playing. The silence is only broken by the chink 
 of coin, and the monotonous voice of the dealer: 
 " All set ; all made ; roll ! Black wins ! All set ; all 
 made; roll! Red wins!" At one table Monte is 
 dealt, at another Fai'o, at another Rottge-et-noir, at 
 another Diana, at another "Chuck-a-litck" at another 
 "Poker dice" and so on. You can be accommoda- 
 ted with almost any game you want, and it makes 
 little difference in which you invest. "You pays 
 your money, and you takes your choice!" You will 
 notice that the players all appear to be of the classes 
 before alluded to ; there are none of the flashily- 
 dressed clerks from the fancy dry-goods stores, no 
 
THE GAME UNO HELL. 2 j^ 
 
 cashiers from large manufacturing-, commercial, or 
 banking houses, no stock-brokers and others, such as 
 you may see in the more high-toned and fashion- 
 able hells of Montgomery, California, or Sacramento 
 streets. The players draw their money from their 
 pockets with the air of men who earned it by the 
 sweat of their brows, and are loth to part with it, but 
 cannot withstand the temptation to indulge in the all- 
 absorbing passion which consumes them. Some of 
 these men are taking their first lessons at the gaming 
 table ; others have been depositing four fifths of their 
 earnings here regularly every week for years, and 
 will do so for years to come. The walls are hung 
 around in places with cards, detailing the rules of the 
 game, and everything looks and speaks " business." 
 There are no luxurious chairs and sofas, no costly 
 pictures, no soft carpets, and no sideboard loaded 
 with substantiate and delicacies, champagne, oysters, 
 rich wines, and fiery liquors in glittering cut-glass and 
 silver decanters and stands, with obsequious negro or 
 Chinese servants, to press you to partake gratuitously 
 of the good things spread before you, as in the high- 
 toned hells. The business of the place is naked 
 eamblinof, and there is no effort to hide it or soften 
 it with the "social amenities." The players barely 
 glanced at us as we entered, and the games go on. 
 A man with the appearance of a mechanic, reaches 
 over the monte table and chucks a pile of silver half- 
 dollars down on a particular card. The dealer draws 
 the cards with a steady hand, the player wins, and 
 the assistant, without a word, shoves toward him the 
 
2 g Q A CRUISE ON THE BARBARY COAST. 
 
 amount of his winnings, in gold or silver. Again 
 the player wins, and again, but the dealer never 
 alters his monotonous drawl for a moment, and ap- 
 pears utterly indifferent to the result. The player, 
 urged on by nods and expressive looks from his com- 
 panions, "presses his luck," and the wrong card is 
 drawn out; the assistant reaches out his rake, and 
 hauls his pile toward the bank. The player draws 
 a long breath, with a half- muttered, half-suppressed 
 curse, and takes from his pocket a $20 piece, which 
 he pitches, with an affectation of carelessness, down 
 upon the nearest card. That, too, goes with the rest 
 into the pile before the cashier of the bank; another 
 and another follows, and at last the player wins again. 
 Then he loses again, and again, and, suddenly starting 
 up, strikes his hand upon his empty pocket, and walks 
 quietly out of the room, without a word. Another 
 victim takes his place, and so it will go on all night. 
 Now and then a man will leave the room "ahead of 
 the game," but you notice that the bank, be the game 
 what it may, wins six times out of ten on the average, 
 and, of course, must in the long run always break the 
 players. We have had enough of this — let us go 
 elsewhere, you say ; and we walk out, our exit attract- 
 ing as little attention as did our entrance. 
 
 Times have changed sadly of late, as any old Cali- 
 fornian will tell you. The police are around now 
 every night, watching for all such "sinful games," 
 and such scenes as we have just been depicting are 
 no longer to be witnessed in San Francisco, though 
 gambling in a different way is just as common as ever. 
 
LV THE FLOWERY LAND. 2 £j 
 
 And now, where ? As we have seen how our Cau- 
 casian fellow-citizens, when unrestrained by the offi- 
 cers of the law, fool away their money at the gaming- 
 table, suppose we go up to Dupont street and see 
 how the Mongolians do that sort of thing. We pass 
 up Washington street a couple of blocks, leaving the 
 City Hall, with the gloomy " calaboose" in its base- 
 ment, and the bright little garden-plat of a plaza on 
 our left, and turn to the right into Dupont street. We 
 are close on the Barbary Coast. A moment since wf 
 were exclusively among Caucasians, male and female- 
 well dressed, and for the most part talking our lan- 
 guage ; we have gone hardly ten steps, and seem to 
 be in another world. The uncouth jargon of the Ce- 
 lestial Empire resounds on every side. The stores 
 are filled with strange-looking packages of goods from 
 the Orient ; over the doorways are great signs, with 
 letters in gold or vermillion, cut into the brilliant blue 
 or black groundwork, the purport whereof we know 
 not. Little women in black or blue silk sacques and 
 loose trousers, hair wonderfully gotten up, and slip- 
 pers with soles an inch or two in thickness, such 
 as we saw running around by daylight, gaze at us with 
 their almond-shaped black eyes, and nod knowingly 
 at the policeman who has kindly volunteered to ac- 
 company us. Men with . long queues hanging down 
 their backs to their very heels, and clad in the cos- 
 tume of a far-off land, crowd the sidewalks, and jostle 
 each other and ourselves around the lottery -shops 
 and the doors of their own ofambliner-houses. The 
 air is redolent of a strange, dreamy odor, which you 
 
2 g 2 A CRUISE OAT THE BARBARY COAST. 
 
 recognize as that of opium and tobacco mingled, and 
 if it be durinof the time of the Chinese New Year's 
 holidays in February, there is an incessant roar, as 
 of musketry, from the explosion of fire - crackers, 
 which are thrown into the streets in packages and by 
 the box, from every store, gambling-house, restau- 
 rant and dwelling, until the atmosphere is one blue 
 cloud of powder-smoke, and the pavement is covered 
 with the red husks of millions of the popping nui- 
 sances. We notice numerous narrow doorways, with 
 cloth signs, with huge Chinese characters over them. 
 These are the entrances to the gambling-houses. At 
 each sits a vigilant guardian, or doorkeeper, as silent as 
 the Sphynx, with his hands tucked up into his sleeves, 
 and his face as rigid and impassive as that of the 
 great image of Josh in the Buddhist temple a few 
 blocks away. He speaks to no one unless accosted ; 
 and you would never dream what a thinking he keeps 
 up, and how much he takes in with those little half- 
 closed eyes of his. Behind him we see an open door, 
 a long narrow passage, and another door at the end. 
 From the inner retreat comes strange, discordant — to 
 our ears — and not over-attractive music, the air being 
 almost always the same, and closely resembling 
 
 "The boat lies high, the boat lies low, 
 She lies high and dry on the Ohio 1" 
 
 Chinamen are entering or coming out at every 
 moment, and why should we not enter too. We ap- 
 proach the door, and the wooden-looking doorkeeper 
 suddenly starts up as wide-awake as you or I, and 
 
JOHM "NO SHABBE." 2 g^ 
 
 stamps his foot on the floor. We see the door fly 
 shut, as in a pantomime, no human agency being 
 visible, hear a bar fall " chump" against it from be- 
 hind, hear the rattling of a chain, and it is all up with 
 us there. We mi^ht kick at the thick door until we 
 were tired, and expostulate with old Confucius there 
 until morning, and it would avail us nothing. He 
 knows what he is there for, and we need not waste 
 our precious time on him. "No shabbe ! " is the only 
 answer we can get to all our inquiries ; and he does 
 not even wink when we shake two four-bit pieces un- 
 der his nose. Better luck next time, perhaps! We 
 try again a few doors further down the street — same 
 result. It is evident that our friend the policeman is 
 not looked upon with favor by the sentinels at the 
 gateways of the palaces of sudden wealth, and we 
 suggest to him that he withdraw to the opposite side 
 of the street, and still keep an eye on us. Attempt 
 No. 3. We see a peculiarly pleasant-looking China- 
 man, whose face is familiar to us, at one of the door- 
 ways, and approach him: "Good evening, John." 
 "Good eening, gentlemen." "Look here, John; 
 these gentlemen come allee way from New York. 
 No policeeman ; wantee see you house ; makee littee 
 talkce; no more! You shabbee, John? " John, with 
 bland, benevolent expression of countenance, which 
 promises well, and raises our expectations to the high- 
 est pitch, bows gently, and thus delivers himself: 
 " You likee see me ; have littee talkee, eh ? Welly 
 good ! Me likee see you, allee same. You come 
 to-morrow, four o'clock ! " Bang goes the door, 
 
284 A CKUTSE °' V TIIE BARBARY COAST. 
 
 down comes the bar, the chain rattles inside, and John, 
 with a face wreathed in smiles, inwardly chuckling 
 over his own astuteness, and the weakness of the out- 
 side barbarians who took him, an old Mongolian, for 
 a greeny, bows almost to the floor, and says with 
 condescending politeness, "Good eening, gentlemen; 
 hope you hab bellee good sleep!" "Why, blame the 
 scoundrel ; he has moved the previous question and 
 us also, and that cuts off all debate!" exclaims one 
 of our party. And he looked so pleasant and accom- 
 modating. "Come again to-morrow, four o'clock," 
 indeed ! There is a Celestial joke for you! We had 
 better give up the attempt to see the inside of a Chi- 
 nese gambling-house, and go farther down the Coast 
 in search of amusement. We retrace our steps, and 
 go a little way up Washington street to an alley, per- 
 haps fifteen feet in width, running through the block 
 northwards to Jackson street. This is "China Alley," 
 and is occupied solely by Chinese prostitutes. The 
 houses are all small brick affairs, coming flush up to 
 the edge of the alley, and have windows with wickets 
 in them, made by setting one pane of glass in a frame 
 by itself, and hanging it on hinges. There is a front 
 and a rear room to each of these little dens ; and, as 
 we walk along, we can see all the arrangements of 
 the outer rooms. Each of these places appear to be 
 inhabited by from two to half a dozen Chinese girls, 
 some of whom are dressed in hoops and long dresses 
 "Melican" style, but for the most part are clad in the 
 costume of their own country. These poor creatures 
 are all slaves, bought with a price in China, and im- 
 
"SOCIAL EVIL" IN CHINATOWN. ~Q~ 
 
 ported by degraded men of their own race, who, des- 
 pite our laws, contrive to hold them to a life-long 
 servitude, which is a thousand times more hopeless 
 and terrible than the negro slavery of Louisiana or 
 Cuba could ever be. They have been reared to a 
 life of shame from infancy, and have not a single trace 
 of the native modesty of women left. They arc, as 
 we have said, mere children in point of intellect, hav- 
 ing no education whatever, and no experience of the 
 world outside of the narrow alleys in which they have 
 always lived, and the emigrant ship in which they 
 were brought over to this country. They have their 
 likes and their dislikes, of course, and become attached 
 to each other in a childish way, frequently being seen 
 walking together on the streets, hand in hand, like 
 little Caucasian sisters going home from school. At 
 very long intervals, some of these poor untutored chil- 
 dren of the East become imbued with Western notions 
 of liberty and right, and making their escape from the 
 clutches of their masters, become joined in lawful 
 marriage to some laborious washerman, or other coun- 
 tryman, and endeavor to settle down to an honest 
 life ; but their chances of escaping kidnapping, and 
 being dragged away to some distant locality, beaten, 
 and reduced again to prostitution and slavery, are 
 very slim indeed. The owner in such cases has al- 
 ways a personal grudge, as well as a pecuniary loss, 
 to urge him on to vindictive measures ; and he will 
 willingly spend ten times the value of his escaping 
 chattel to get her back again, and have his revenge. 
 Besides, the safety of this peculiar institution demands 
 
2 35 A CRUISE ON THE P4RBARY COAST. 
 
 that the most rigorous measures should be taken in 
 every case, as an example to deter others from follow- 
 ing in the same vicious course. The girls cost $40 
 each in Canton, but are valued here at about $400 
 if passably good-looking, young and healthy, and 
 readily sell at that figure in cash, or approved paper. 
 Each colony of half a dozen girls is under the imme- 
 diate control of an " old mother," herself a retired 
 prostitute, who jealously watches over each, and re- 
 ceives from them the wages of their shame as fast as 
 earned. From each wicket all the way down the al- 
 ley a female head may be seen protruding, and there 
 is a constant fire of jokes and repartee going on be- 
 tween the occupants of the dens on each side of the 
 alley, while every passer comes in for his share of 
 personal notice. A girl, with hair carefully braided 
 and decked with artificial flowers, and cheeks and 
 lips cunningly painted so as to resemble those of her 
 frail Caucasian sisters, notices us looking toward her 
 wicket, and instantly raising her hand, taps at the win- 
 dow, but at the moment catches a glimpse of the po- 
 liceman behind us, and shuts the wicket, and turns 
 away as if she had not seen us at all. The alarm runs 
 down the whole alley in an instant ; there is a rattling 
 of wickets, as if a hurricane was sweeping through the 
 place, and in half a minute all is as silent as the grave, 
 and not a head to be seen. It is a special misde- 
 meanor under our city ordinances for a Chinawoman 
 to tap on a window to attract the attention of any- 
 body on the street ; and the girls well know what is 
 in store for them if they are caught at it by the police. 
 
CELESTIAL GAMBLING. 
 
 287 
 
 We walk through the alley, and we emerge upon 
 Jackson street, stumble upor. Ah Ting, a Sacramento 
 street merchant, as shrewd and smart as any down- 
 east Yankee, who is walking with the swell Chinese 
 doctor, Li-Po-Tai, who created such an excitement 
 in San Francisco on his arrival, a few years since ; 
 and, laying all nonsense aside, really does perform 
 some almost miraculous cures. Ah Ting is our friend ; 
 he will get us into a Chinese gambling- house at once. 
 He sends off the policeman, as one too many in the 
 party, and walking across the street, approaches the 
 guardian of one of the temples of finance, confidentially 
 says a few words to him, and in we go. The room 
 is bare and plain ; nothing attractive in its decorations, 
 and the air is blue with the smoke of opium and fla- 
 vored tobacco, from the little cigarritos between the 
 lips of nearly every man in the room. There are, 
 perhaps, fifty Chinamen, of the lower class, crowded 
 around a long table, behind which sits the banker, a 
 benevolent-looking old fellow in huge spectacles, satin 
 blouse and skull-cap. In one corner of the room is 
 the band, consisting of a woman, richly dressed, and 
 painted, with a hair-rudder standing out from behind 
 her head in startling proportions, playing on a three- 
 stringed guitar, a pock-marked scoundrel of the male 
 sex playing on a two-stringed fiddle, which he holds 
 between his feet, and another who beats the infernal 
 tom-tom with sticks, making discord of what might 
 otherwise be considered an apology for music. From 
 time to time the woman breaks forth in a wild, plain- 
 tive air, in a voice not bad in itself, but pitched at a 
 
gg A CRUISE ON THE BARDARY COAST. 
 
 key as high as the ordinary whistle of a steam-engine. 
 This, Ah Ting tells us, is " the Song of the Jasmine 
 Flower," and we agree with one of the party, who 
 suggests that the aforesaid jasmine flower must have 
 grown on a hill-side, in hard stony soil, exposed to 
 high winds, and had a hard time of it generally. The 
 game which is being dealt is "Than," or "Tan," a 
 kind of "odd and even" affair ; we came to the con- 
 clusion that it would be odd indeed if anybody ever 
 got even by playing at it. It looks all fair enough to 
 an outsider. The dealer has on the table before him 
 a pile of "copper cash," or Chinese bronze coin, each 
 about the diameter of our old-fashioned copper cents, 
 now out of use, but only about one fourth as heavy, 
 and with a square hole in the centre. These coins 
 are of the value of the thousandth part of a Mexican 
 dollar, or a tenth part of one cent ; and in trade in 
 China are used mostly strung on strings of a hundred 
 or a thousand each, for convenience in handling and 
 to save counting. Picking up a handful of these coins, 
 apparently at random, before the eyes of the players, he 
 puts them down on the table and covers them instantly 
 with a common Chinaware bowl inverted. The players 
 then make their bets on the number coming out odd 
 or even, and also on guessing the exact number, the 
 bank always taking the chances against the betters 
 on either side. He then raises the bowl, and with 
 a wire, about fourteen inches in length, crooked at 
 the end, pulls the coins rapidly into little parties of 
 four each, so that anybody can count them almost at 
 a glance. If you bet on odd, and an odd number is 
 
HEADS I WIN; TAILS YOU LOSE. 2 g Q 
 
 found to have been under the bowl, you win ; if you 
 hazard a guess at the actual number and hit it — about 
 as much chance of your doing so as of your being hit 
 by lightning in San Francisco — you win ; or, if you 
 bet that the last little pile drawn out will contain four, 
 three, two, or only one coin, and hit it, you win. It 
 all appears as fair as the day, and yet you cannot but 
 notice that the bank gets rich and the players poor, by 
 regular degrees, all the time. Of course there must be 
 a percentage in favor of the bank somewhere, but you 
 cannot see where it is if you watch the game all night. 
 The lower classes of the Chinese are inveterate game- 
 sters, and must all know that there is such a percent- 
 age, which must ruin the player in the long run; but, 
 like gamblers of other nations, they keep at it as long 
 as they have a cent, and return to it the moment they 
 have made another raise of a dollar or two. We have 
 been admitted as a special favor, and of course must 
 "patronize the house," so we select a Chinaman who 
 speaks a little English, and ask him to act as an agent 
 in the transaction. He is only too willing to accom- 
 modate us. A half-dollar is staked on " odd" and we 
 lose; another on "even," and we lose again; then 
 one on the exact number, and our agent turns to us 
 and explains, with many shrugs, bows and apologies, 
 that he regrets very much that we did not win that 
 time, as, had we done so, we should have doubled our 
 money as many times as there were pieces in the pile. 
 We regret as much as he does that our luck did not 
 run that way, and tell him so with as many bows, 
 shrugs and apologies in return. "Well, hopee you 
 
 1 o 
 
2QO A CRUISE. ON THE BARBAE Y COAST. 
 
 catchee him next time ! " Not if we know ourself, oh 
 ingenuous and unsophisticated son of the Occident! 
 That game is played out, so far as we are concerned! 
 We have seen all we can see, and learned all we care 
 to learn here, so we will go on somewhere else in our 
 search for useful knowledge. "Good night, John" — 
 to the banker. "Good night, John ; please you come 
 again uddah time!" he replies, and we part company, 
 with assurances of distinguished consideration all 
 round, and emerge on the street again. 
 
 Our policeman rejoins us, and we go on down to 
 Pacific street, the roughest and least pacific of the 
 streets on the Barbary Coast. The whole street, for 
 half a dozen blocks, is literally swarming with the 
 scum of creation. Every land under the sun has 
 contributed toward making up the crowd of loafers, 
 thieves, low gamblers, jay- hawkers, dirty, filthy, de- 
 graded, hopeless bummers, and the unsophisticated 
 greenhorns from the mines, or from the Eastern States, 
 who, drawn here by curiosity, or lured on by specious 
 falsehoods told them by pretended friends met on the 
 ocean or river steamers, are looked upon as the legiti- 
 mate prey of all the rest. The number of prema- 
 turely-old young men, mere boys in years, but cen- 
 tenarians in vice and crime ; sallow, wrinkled, pimpled, 
 dirty, stoop -shouldered, disgusting in language and 
 action, who drift up and down the Coast as we stand 
 looking on, astonishes you. They seem to make up 
 the bulk of the passers on the sidewalks. You never 
 see this class of fellows even in this locality by day ; 
 they seem to shun the light of the sun, and only crawl 
 
AMONG THE BUMMERS. 
 
 29I 
 
 forth at night to feast on unclean things, and fatten 
 on rottenness and corruption. Some of them have 
 parents in California, doubtless, but the great majority 
 have left homes in some far-off land, where they are 
 often spoken of with pride by confiding mothers, sis- 
 ters and brothers, who know nothing of their actual 
 status in society here — well for them that they do 
 not. "I have a son in California. I have not heard 
 from him in several years, but he was doing well when 
 he wrote last," says a fond mother in the Atlantic 
 States. Well for you, oh mother, that you cannot 
 stand with us this evening, and see him floating with 
 the tide, a hopeless wreck, along the slime-covered 
 shores of the Barbary Coast ! From the "deadfalls," 
 as the low beer and dance cellars are designated, 
 which line both sides of the street, and abound on all 
 the streets in this vicinity, come echoes of drunken 
 laughter, curses, ribaldry, and music from every con- 
 ceivable instrument. Hand- organs, flutes, pianos, 
 bagpipes, banjos, guitars, violins, brass instruments 
 and accordeons mingle their notes and help to swell 
 the discord. "Dixie" is being drummed out of a pi- 
 ano in one cellar; in the next they are singing "John 
 Brown;" and in the next, "Clare's Dragoons," or 
 "Wearing of the Green." Women dressed in flaunt- 
 ing colors stand at the doors of many of these "dead- 
 falls," and you frequently notice some of them saluting 
 an acquaintance, perhaps of an hour's standing, and 
 urging him to "come back and take just one more 
 drink." Ten to one the already half- drunken fool 
 complies, and finds himself in the calaboose next 
 
_2Q 2 A CRUISE Oy THE DARBAR\ COAST. 
 
 morning, with a broken head, utterly empty pockets, 
 and a dim recollection of having been taken some- 
 where by some woman whom he cannot identify, and 
 finding himself unexpectedly in the clutches of men 
 he never saw before, who go through him like a po- 
 liceman, tak.mg from him watch, chain, and every 
 other valuable, and pitch him headlong down a stair- 
 way; after which all is a blank in his memory. All 
 these dens are open and in full blast, yet we see few 
 persons going in or out who appear like customers, 
 and they do not seem to be selling lager or whisky 
 enough to pay for gaslight. Look in the papers to- 
 morrow morning, and you will see items like this : 
 
 Robbed ox the Barbary Coast. — John Smith, a miner from 
 Mud Springs, El Dorado County, came down on the Sacramento 
 boat last evening', and put up at the What Cheer House. On his 
 way to the hotel, he made the acquaintance of a man who claimed 
 to know a friend of his who had worked with him at mining in 1858, 
 •on the south fork of the Yuba. The two started out in search of 
 this mythical friend, and visited numerous deadfalls without finding 
 him. They drank at each place they visited, however, and about 
 one o'clock this morning Smith reached the calaboose in a half- 
 stupified condition, and charged a girl known as "Pigeon-toed-Sal," 
 whose headquarters are in a deadfall near the corner of Kearny 
 and Pacific street , and her male confederate, with robbing him of 
 $800, her companion holding him down while she searched his 
 pockets, and took the money from them. Officers Smith and Brown 
 arrested Sal and her confederate, the " Billy Goat," and locked 
 •them up on the charge of grand larceny, but it is doubtful if the 
 charge can be sustained, as the money was not recovered, and the 
 friends of the accused will fee a lawyer with the money, and hire 
 the witnesses for twenty-five per cent, to leave the State, or swear 
 that Smith had agreed to marry the girl, and gave her the money 
 
THE J A 1 '-HA WKERS. 
 
 293 
 
 as a free present, telling her to purchase the necessary outfit for the 
 wedding with it. It is, in all probability, the old story of the fool 
 and his money. 
 
 A few such items will enlighten you on the ques- 
 tion of how the proprietors of so many of these well- 
 named " deadfalls" manage to make a living. 
 
 Three men come up the street as we stand on the 
 sidewalk looking and listening, and two of them eye 
 our friend the policeman uneasily as they pass. These 
 two are unmistakably of the Algerine pirate class, and 
 the third evidently a middle-aged g-eenhorn from the 
 mining country. The officer comprehends the situa- 
 tion at a glance, and stepping forward, says emphati- 
 cally, "Look here, Jack; I told you once before to 
 get out of the jayhawking business, and not let me 
 catch you on the Coast again. And you, Cockeye ; 
 when did you come back from over the Bay ? I'll 
 bag you both, as sure as I'm a living man, if I catch 
 either of you on my beat again. You can go this 
 time, but cuss me if it ain't your last chance. Toddle, 
 blast you, and don't let me see you again ! " The 
 young fellows slink away without a word, like rene- 
 gade curs caught in the act of killing sheep, and the 
 officer addresses himself to their intended victim. 
 "Look here, old fellow ; those fellows picked you up 
 at the wharf, or around the What Cheer, and pre- 
 tended they used to know you at home. They are 
 two State Prison thieves, and would have robbed you 
 before daylight, sure. Now, you go back to your 
 hotel, put your money in the safe, and go to bed, or 
 I'll lock you up for a drunk; do you hear?" The 
 
2 g. A CRUISE ON THE LAKBAKY COAST. 
 
 countryman stares a moment with blank astonishment, 
 and then, with many thanks, tells the officer just what 
 the latter had already told him, and leaves the Bar- 
 bary Coast in all haste. 
 
 "Do you want to see what they are doing in these 
 places ? " says the officer. " Come in here with me." 
 We enter what appears to be an ordinary "corner 
 grocery," with piles of potatoes, onions, soap, can- 
 dles, and other ordinary goods, in boxes and bags, 
 stacked up in front. Everything looks quiet and 
 respectable, but the German or French proprietor of 
 the place glances anxiously at our escort, who pushes 
 open a green Venetian blind, which serves as a door 
 at what appears to be the back of the room, and mo- 
 tions for us to enter. Here, in an inner room, for 
 which the grocery in the front is but a screen in reality, 
 we find some twenty rascally-looking negroes from 
 Panama, the West Indies, Peru and Guiana, sitting 
 round dirty tables, playing draw-poker and other 
 swindling games, with greasy, fairly stinking cards, 
 for money which we know they never honestly earned. 
 " Hulloa, that is you, is it ? You are a healthy crowd, 
 you are ! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, 
 nine ' old cons.' One, two, three, four, five, six, seven 
 chain-gang customers; and six that ought to be 
 hanged, and will be, sooner or later." Having thus 
 classified the occupants of the place, for our and their 
 benefit, the officer leads us out once more on the 
 street. 
 
 We next enter a similarly appearing establishment, 
 in which there are a billiard-table in the back room, 
 
A GOODLY COMPANY. 
 
 295 
 
 and a promiscuous crowd of Chilefios, Peruvians, and 
 other Spanish- American cut-throats, playing " pool," 
 with any amount of small change changing hands at 
 •every game. "That sharp-nosed fellow with the 
 billiard-cue in his hand murdered a peddler at New 
 Almaden a few years since, but his woman swore 
 him clear. That hook-nosed villain smoking- there 
 inthe corner, is a horse-thief from San Jose ; he 
 has been over the Bay (*. c, in State Prison, or San 
 Ouentin, across the Bay from San Francisco) three 
 times, and will go again soon, I reckon. That little 
 fellow there with the scar on his face is a monte deal- 
 er; and that one with one eye is a burglar." And so 
 our official friend runs on through the list, and we 
 retire. 
 
 We next enter a low room on the ground floor of 
 a rickety, old frame-building, which has stood here 
 since 1849, anc ^ passing the screen which shuts off the 
 view from the street, find a bar stocked with every 
 species of liquid poison, at " 5 cents a glass." A rough- 
 looking Irishman is behind the bar ; two miserable, 
 bloated, loathsome- looking, drunken white females 
 are quarrelling with each other in front ; on the set- 
 tee ranged along the wall sits a third wreck of female 
 humanity, swearing like a pirate, and cursing "the 
 perlice" at every breath; while a man with a face 
 like a diseased beefs liver, who once represented a 
 Western State in Congress, is patting her on the back- 
 caressingly, and endeavoring vainly to quiet her, lest 
 the police outside should hear her and make a raid on 
 the establishment. In one corner, a party of Kanaka 
 
2 q5 a cruise on the barbary coast. 
 
 sailors, from a Honolulu whaling-vessel, are holding 
 a drunken pow-wow; but as we cannot understand a 
 word of their language, we pass them with a glance. 
 At the sight of our companion, the policeman, the 
 woman on the sofa breaks out, like a maniac, in fresh 
 curses and vituperation, and stepping to the door he 
 gives a long, sharp whistle. Two answering whistles 
 are heard, and in a few seconds two more policemen 
 arrive, and start with the furious woman between them 
 for the calaboose. 
 
 Guided by the music of violins, guitars and a piano, 
 and the tramping of many feet, we descend a narrow 
 stairway, and find ourselves in one of the most noto- 
 rious dance-cellars of San Francisco. There is a low 
 bar at one side of the room, near the entrance, and 
 at the farther end a raised platform for the musicians. 
 About forty young women and girls, ranging down 
 to ten or twelve years of age, dressed in gaudy, flaunt- 
 ing costumes, and with eyes lighted up with the bale- 
 ful glare of dissipation, arc on the floor, dancing with 
 as many men, of all ages : rowdies, loafers, pimps, 
 thieves, and their greenhorn victims ; while perhaps 
 fifty men of the same stamp stand looking on and ap- 
 plauding the performers. The room is blue with to- 
 bacco-smoke, and reekinQf with the fumes of the vilest 
 of whisk)-. Half a dozen men, or overgrown boys, 
 are sitting or lying on the floor in various stages of 
 inebriety, but they are unnoticed by the other occu- 
 pants of the place. Every time a man takes a part- 
 ner for the dance he pays fifty cents, half of which 
 goes to the establishment and half to the girl, and at 
 
BARBARY COAST LODGINGS. 
 
 297 
 
 the close of each dance he generally takes her to the 
 bar and treats her. We notice with thankfulness that 
 the females appear to be almost all of foreign birth, 
 the exceptions being Spanish-Americans, with occa- 
 sionally an Indian girl, who has been raised as a ser- 
 vant in some family in San Francisco, but, Indian-like, 
 prefers a life of idleness, vice and degradation to, one 
 of comfort and honest labor. This place has been 
 the scene of many a savage affray and brutal murder ; 
 and often have we seen the sawdust on its floor red 
 with the blood of some victim of the knife or bullet. 
 It is long past midnight, but the drunken orgies go 
 on unchecked, and will do so for hours yet, if no 
 bloody row occur to end them prematurely. 
 
 "Do you want to see where these people lodge? 
 Come along with me," says our official friend. We 
 notice many large lamps with "Lodgings 25, 50 and 
 75 cents per night," painted thereon, are hanging 
 at the doors of dirty, dilapidated-looking buildings. 
 We enter one of these places without ceremony. A 
 wrinkled old has: sits in an outer band-box of an 
 office, to receive the pay in advance from the custom- 
 ers of the establishment. "Who have you got in 
 here to-night," demands the man of the star. "Well, 
 we ain't began to fill up much yet; but there's Tom 
 Reynolds, an' Constable Bob, an' Bluey, an' Calla- 
 han, and a few others. I hope you don't want any on 
 'em now, do ye?" replies the hag. Relieved by the 
 assurance that the visit is only one of curiosity, not 
 on behalf of the law, the old creature, with a chuckle 
 of satisfaction, leads the way with the lamp, and we 
 
2 p3 a cruise on the barbary coast. 
 
 go through the premises. The rooms where the 
 lodgers at 25 cents a night are stowed away are 
 fitted with bunks, like the forecastle of a vessel, and 
 each lodger has a narrow straw mattress, a pair of 
 blankets — perhaps dirty sheets as well — and a pulu 
 pillow. The dozen bunking thus in one room have not 
 money or valuables enough, all put together, to pay 
 any one of the number for the trouble of going through 
 the pockets of the rest, and they can rest in peace un- 
 til evening comes again, when they emerge on the 
 streets once more, to resume their pursuit of plunder. 
 When one of these fellows makes a raise by "rolling 
 a drunk" (z. e., taking the valuables from the pockets 
 of a drunken man on the sidewalk), " cracking a crib," 
 or "jayhawking a Webfoot" (robbing a green Ore- 
 gonian), he will take a single bed at 37-i cents in the 
 next room, which is a little better furnished, and has 
 two or three bedsteads in place of the bunks ; and, 
 should his luck be extraordinarily good, and a fat 
 pigeon fall in his way and get plucked, he will prob- 
 ably go one degree further, and invest 50 cents in a 
 room with one double-bed, and invite one of the frail 
 females from the dance-cellar near at hand, or some 
 one of the numerous deadfalls in the vicinity, to share 
 his wealth with him. But for 50 cents a night a man 
 could get a good bed at a second or third class lodg- 
 ing-house in a decent locality. Yes, but you forget 
 that the patrons of such establishments as we are now 
 in are all known to the police, and could not get ad- 
 mitted anywhere else, except in disguise, and then 
 only for a short time, if they had any amount of 
 
CATCHING A TARTAR. 2Q g 
 
 money to pay their way with. That is why they 
 must sleep here or on the street. 
 
 Bidding the old hag good morning, we next visit a 
 huge three or four story building, with a large area 
 in the centre, and galleries all around the inside, cut 
 up into almost innumerable little rooms, which are let, 
 furnished, at so much per month, to the "pretty beer- 
 slingers" and their male companions. Every girl 
 attending in the beer- cellars has a male friend — some- 
 times her husband, but not often — who fights her bat- 
 tles, robs her of her earnings, and not unfrequently 
 plunders, by collusion with her, the inebriated green- 
 horns whom she entices into her den after the dead- 
 fall has closed for the night. 
 
 Bang! bang! bang! What was that? \Vc hear 
 the sharp whistle of a policeman and several answer- 
 ing whistles, and run out to the street to see what is 
 •going on. The story is soon told. An officer has 
 met three well-known thieves skulking through an 
 alley with something in bags on their backs. On 
 general principles, he orders them to halt, and is an- 
 swered with a staggering blow with a slungshot by- 
 one of them. To draw his revolver and let fly at each 
 in succession is the work of an instant. One of the 
 desperadoes is shot through the heart and falls dead in 
 his tracks ; one is lying on the ground with his right 
 thigh-bone shivered by the bullet, so that it will re- 
 quire amputation ; and the third, barely hit in the side, 
 has thrown up his hands, and stands waiting for the 
 irons to be put on him. The police clear the held of 
 action in a few minutes, and on searching the bags find 
 
- OQ A CRUISE ON THE BARBARY COAST. 
 
 a quantity of valuable goods just taken from a grocery- 
 store on Pacific street, which the defeated party had 
 broken open and plundered. (This occurred just as 
 related quite recently ; the two survivors are now in 
 the State Prison — one of them with a wooden leg — 
 and the officer is still on the police force.) 
 
 The excitement beino - over, the officer conducts us 
 through a narrow alley swarming with Chinese pros- 
 titutes, and reeking with a thousand separate stinks, 
 each more abominable than the other, to see what he 
 designates as a "Chinese Hoo-doo House." In a 
 back room, hidden entirely from the gaze of passers 
 in the alley, we find a crowd of the lowest class of 
 Chinese, who are enjoying themselves in various 
 ways. There is an altar at one end of the room, with 
 a Joss, in gorgeous vermilion and blue, sitting erect 
 at the back. His face bears the same expression of 
 conscious power, rest, and complete self-satisfaction 
 which is seen on that of his more aristocratic brother 
 in the Buddhist temples on Dupont and Pine streets, 
 and he holds the fingers of his uplifted hand in the 
 same mysteriously significant position. But instead 
 of rich satin garments and costly hangings of crimson 
 silk and wonderful gilt filagree work, he is clad in 
 tawdry cotton -stuffs and surrounded by hangings of 
 trifling value. The altar-ornaments are porcelain 
 instead of bronze metal, and the meat-offerings before 
 him are not such as would tempt the appetite of a 
 well-regulated and healthy immortal, while the incense 
 which is burning under his nose is redolent of tobacco 
 and garlic rather than of sandal-wood and the costly 
 
*MONSTRUM HORKENDUM," ETC. „ OI 
 
 perfumes lavished on the altars of the high-class tem- 
 ples. In an alcove on one side of the room is a raised 
 couch, spread with matting, and provided with braided 
 split-cane pillows, for the accommodation of the opium 
 smokers, two of whom are now stretched out at full 
 length thereon, gazing into vacancy with fixed, star- 
 ing eyes, unconscious of all that is passing around 
 them, and wrapped in the wild hallucinations called 
 into existence by the fumes of the deadly drug, which 
 is sooner or later to utterly prostrate them, bodily and 
 mentally, and send them, after awful sufferings, to fill 
 untimely graves. Did not Christian England wage 
 a savage war upon Heathen China, that the opium 
 trade should not be broken up? Why then talk of 
 abolishing it, now that it has become the curse which 
 is destroying the whole Mongolian race ? We are not 
 missionaries, and did not come here to preach. Round 
 a table, a party of coolies are engaged in gambling, 
 for "copper cash," with dominoes, playing the game 
 very rapidly, and with consummate skill, though in a 
 different manner from that known by the name with 
 us. On another table we 3ee a strange collection of 
 nondescript effigies, made of highly-colored paper and 
 slips of pliant cane. One resembles in outline a goat, 
 but has the head of an alligator, and the figure astride 
 its back is that of a man with a cock's head on his 
 shoulders. The next figure has the body of a lion, 
 a horse's head, and a fish's tail, and is ridden by a 
 man with the head of an ox, and a sword in his hand. 
 A Chinaman, who appears to understand English, 
 volunteers to explain these mysteries to us. We 
 
o 02 A CRUISE ON THE BARBARY COAST. 
 
 question him, and he answers "yes" and " no" alter- 
 nately to everything we ask him. " Why," says one 
 of our party, "this must be Chief Crowley? " "Yes, 
 Chief Clowly!" replies our celestial cicerone. "And 
 this must be Capt. Lees? " " No Capt. Lees all same," 
 responds John. "Why, blame me if he is not repeat- 
 ing every word after me like a parrot ; he don't under- 
 stand a word of what we are saying." Further ques- 
 tioning establishes the fact that such is the case, and 
 despairing of gaining any useful knowledge under such 
 circumstances, we give a quarter to the least repulsive- 
 looking female in the band who are making night 
 hideous with their unearthly music, and depart in 
 disgust. 
 
 One more sight before we leave the neighborhood. 
 The officer leads us a few doors farther down the al- 
 ley, and enters a low door into a room, dimly lighted 
 by a China nut-oil lamp. Stretched on the floor of 
 this damp, foul-smelling den, are four female figures. 
 These miserable wretches are the victims of the most 
 fearful and loathsome disease with which the ven- 
 geance of God has cursed sinful humanity, and having 
 been pronounced incurable by the Chinese doctors, 
 and refused admission, under our laws, to the alms 
 house and public hospital, are here dying, by inches, 
 a slow, lingering, horrible death. One of them, at 
 our request, lifts from her face a cloth which hid it, 
 and in place of mouth, lips, cheeks and nose, we see 
 a horrible cavity, formed by the eating away of the 
 flesh until the bare bones are exposed, as in the grin- 
 ning effigy of a death's head on some ancient tower. 
 
MURDER. , Q ., 
 
 With a sensation, beside which seasickness is delight- 
 ful, we rush from the room and regain the alley, de- 
 termined to see no more. 
 
 One more sensation is yet in store for us. As we 
 emerge on Jackson street once more, we are met by 
 an officer, who tells us that another of those horrible, 
 mysterious murders of fallen women, which have hor- 
 rified the community over and over again, and baffled 
 and set at defiance the detective powers of the city 
 officials, has been perpetrated in Stout's Alley. He 
 leads up into the alley, and along it to within a few 
 yards of Washington street, and an officer at the 
 door, who is keeping back the curious crowd of men 
 and women which was gathered on hearing the news, 
 admits us to the house where the tragedy has been 
 enacted. There are two rooms on the main floor, 
 which had been occupied by the French woman, now 
 dead. In the front one is a bed luxuriously furnished, 
 a bureau, wardrobe, table, etc., and in the back room 
 a wash-stand, stove, and some cooking utensils and 
 crockery. Her male friend slept up stairs, and knew 
 nothing of the tragedy going on below. The police 
 are busily at work searching for clues, to lead to the 
 detection of the murderer, but all in vain. On the 
 floor in the front room, the body of the miserable 
 victim is lying in a pool of blood, the skull fractured 
 by a blow with a chair, which lies shivered by her 
 side, and the throat cut from ear to ear with a dull 
 knife, taken from the other room by the murderer. 
 The bed is drenched with blood, and a pillow, thrown 
 against the wall at the other side of the room, is sat- 
 
"04 A CRUISE 0N TIIE BARBARY COAST. 
 
 urated with it. It is evident that the murderer arose 
 from her side while she slept, dealt her a stunning 
 blow with the chair, then ran into the back room and 
 got the knife. On returning, he found her standing 
 up on the floor, she having staggered to her feet and 
 endeavored to make her way to the door, probably 
 with some dim, undefined, instinctive impulse, to call 
 for assistance. He has then got her down upon the 
 floor, stifled her voice with the pillow, and finished 
 his work with the knife. He has then risen, searched 
 her trunk and bureau-drawers for money and valu- 
 ables, felt his way into the back room, and there 
 washed his hands and face, wiping the bloody water 
 off them upon the towel, dressed himself, and then 
 coolly departed. This much can be inferred by the 
 marks of blood on the wall, of bloody hands upon the 
 clothing in the trunk and bureau, on the lace curtains 
 and on the middle door, but all else is idle conjec- 
 ture, and the murderer carries the secret with him to 
 the grave, despite the efforts of a really efficient and 
 energetic police. 
 
 Out in the street once more. The city is silent, 
 and the streets deserted at last ; we have seen enough 
 for one night ; enough for a life-time of this sort ot 
 thing, you say. Well, we will not quarrel with you 
 on a matter of taste. And so, just as the first faint 
 light of the grey dawn begins to flush the eastern 
 horizon beyond the Contra Costa hills, we break up 
 our little party, and wend our way to our several 
 homes. Thus ends our long night's "Cruise on the 
 Barbary Coast." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 Arrival of a China Steamer at San Francisco. — Her Passengers and Cargo.— 
 A Horseback Trip !o Mount Diablo. — Ascending the Mountain. — The Mag- 
 nificent View from the Summit. 
 
 Well, what next? We have done the Mission 
 Dolores and its quaint old red tile-roofed, adobe 
 walled, and curiously ornamented altar, standing- amid 
 the graves of the pious fathers, whose faith led them 
 here and helped them to rear this structure on the far 
 confines of heathendom, generations ago. We have 
 galloped over the broad macadamized road — out past 
 Lone Mountain, with its City of the Dead gathered 
 around the tall, white shaft which marks the resting- 
 place of the gallant Broderick, and Mount Calvary, 
 with another City of the Dead gathering around 
 the white cross gleaming from its summit — to Point 
 Lobos, where we have seen the ships from Europe, 
 Asia, Australia, the Atlantic ports, and the islands of 
 the Pacific, come sailing in through the Golden 
 Gate. From the balcony of the Cliff House, over- 
 hanging the roaring breakers, we have looked down 
 for hours with never-flagging interest, upon those 
 strange monster survivors of the World Before 
 the Flood, the sea-lions, as they crawled from the 
 (305) 20 
 
■2 6 WHAT TO DO. 
 
 depths of the slimy sea upon the rugged rocks, writh- 
 ing and wriggling as if in mortal agony, fighting and 
 howling in infernal chorus, over the degeneracy of 
 the days upon which, through some mistake never 
 fully explained, they have fallen, ages and ages after 
 their co-inhabitants of the primeval world had per- 
 ished. Fruit we have indulged in to a surfeit. Wine ? 
 We went round through the cellars yesterday until 
 our heads were, or felt as if they were, as large and 
 as full as the great casks holding thousands of gallons, 
 in which the champagne was being prepared for bot- 
 tling. The Barbary Coast, with its reeking vice, 
 seething crime, and nameless, unutterable human deg- 
 radation, we did last night ; this evening we do the 
 Chinese Theatre ; to-morrow the Geysers ; next week 
 the Big Trees and Yosemite. But what to-day? 
 
 There is a small white flag, inscribed with the letters 
 U. S. M., flying from each of the San Francisco street 
 cars as it passes ; a mail steamer from some part of 
 the world has entered the Golden Gate. From the 
 direction of North Beach, a messenger of the Mer- 
 chants' Exchange comes galloping at full speed along 
 Stockton street, his half-wild Spanish horse — with 
 head erect, nostrils distended, and lustrous eyes (the 
 glory alike of Spanish steeds and women) that flash 
 like coals of fire — bounding over the rough pavement 
 as proudly as if conscious that he bore the fate of 
 Caesar and his empire. "What is it?" we call out as 
 the messenger flies past us. "The Great Republic, 
 from China and Japan," is the answer he gives, with- 
 out even turning his head to see who asked ; and the 
 
THE WHARF. « Q j 
 
 ]oud report echoing over the city tells us that the 
 proud steamer, which has borne our starry flag to the 
 uttermost parts of the earth, is safe in port, and is 
 rounding Telegraph Hill on her way up the harbor to 
 the wharves of the P. M. S. S. Co., at Rincon Point. 
 Eureka! here is the wished- for sensation. Let us be 
 off for South Beach! 
 
 Looking down from Rincon Hill, we see the lonof 
 shed-covered wharf of the Pacific Mail Steamship 
 Company stretching far out into Mission Bay to the 
 southward, huge steamers lying in the docks, or at 
 anchor in the stream, a stone's throw off, and in front, 
 outside the high, closed gates, a vast crowd of Euro- 
 peans, Americans, and Asiatics commingled, and a. 
 jam of vehicles of every description, gathered in an- 
 ticipation of the steamer's arrival at her wharf. De- 
 scending the hill and making our way slowly through 
 the crowd, we reach the gates at last, and approach- 
 ing the group of police-officers on duty, offer the card 
 inscribed, "Admit the Bea?-er on Great Republic" 
 which was received at the company's office on Sacra- 
 mento street, as a special courtesy from the great cor- 
 poration. The officer has already recognized our 
 companion-as a member of the San Francisco "press- 
 gang," and passes us through the side door with a 
 quiet nod, not even condescending to look at our 
 ticket. Passing down the long wharf, between the 
 great steamers lying on either hand, we find in wait- 
 ing a few vehicles — hacks sent to bring away some 
 particular persons known to be on board, the United 
 States mail and express wagons — some gentlemen 
 
„ g FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 .arid ladies who, having friends on board, have secured 
 passes to go inside the gates, a crowd of custom-house 
 officers, detectives in the employ of the company, the 
 captain of the San Francisco police, with his entire 
 watch, in grey uniforms, and armed with clubs and 
 revolvers, and fifty to one hundred leading Chinese 
 merchants, consignees of the cargo, or representatives 
 of the "Six Companies," to whom all the Celestial 
 •emiorants or immigrants are consigned. 
 
 o o> o 
 
 The " Great Republic," flying the flag of our country, 
 that of the P. M. S. S. Co., and the yellow dragon 
 of China, has meantime rounded Rincon Point, and 
 is lying in the stream, off the southern end of the 
 wharf, with hawsers out, vainly endeavoring, against 
 the strong ebb tide, to warp into her berth on the 
 western side. The bow hawser parts at last, and she 
 drifts out towards Yerba Buena Island, then swings 
 slowly round under steam, heads towards San Jose, 
 and then, when about half a mile away, turns grace- 
 fully, and, with her monster wheels beating the bay 
 into a foam, comes rushing at full speed directly down 
 toward the wharf. The picket gates which separate 
 the southern end of the shed from the section of open 
 wharf beyond, are opened in an instant by the officers, 
 and the people rush at their utmost speed down towards 
 the northern gateway, apprehensive lest the levia- 
 than, now approaching with the fleetness of a race- 
 horse, should miss the point aimed at by a few feet, 
 knock the pine-timber built wharf into kindling-wood, 
 .and send those upon it into Davy Jones' locker in an 
 instant. Needless alarm ! The monster of the deep 
 
THE PANORAMA OF THE ORIENT. ~ QC . 
 
 obeys her helm to perfection, comes rushing swiftly 
 into her berth right alongside the wharf, and, before 
 we have ceased wondering at the immense proportions 
 of this magnificent specimen of American marine ar- 
 chitecture, her wheels are reversed, and she has ceased 
 to move. Then, for the first time, we observe that 
 her main deck is packed with Chinamen — every foot 
 of space being occupied by them — who are gazing in 
 silent wonder at the new land whose fame had reached 
 them beyond the seas, and whose riches these swart 
 representatives of the toiling millions of Asia have 
 come to develop. The great gangway -planks — 
 bridges they might be called more appropriately — 
 are run out from the wharf and hoisted into place ; 
 the health-officer, who had boarded the steamer off 
 "the Heads," comes down bowinof and smilino- as he 
 
 ' Or* 
 
 parts with the officers of the vessel, the custom-house 
 officers ascend to the decks, the detectives and police- 
 men range themselves at the gangways fore and aft, 
 and — hats off in front ! — the grand panorama of the 
 Orient is about to be unrolled ! 
 
 The forward gangway is reserved for the disem- 
 barkation of Chinamen exclusively ; the after gang- 
 way is for the cabin passengers, mostly Americans 
 and Europeans. Several Chinese merchants, neatly- 
 dressed and quiet, gentlemanly-behaved men, attempt 
 to go on board by the after gang-plank, and are hurled 
 back with, it would seem, needless violence by the 
 officers stationed there. The sub-agents and em- 
 ployes of the Six Companies, who attempt to reach 
 the main-deck by th^- forward gangway, are repulsed 
 
„ IO FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 with even greater rudeness and force: the orders are 
 that none shall be allowed to go on board until the 
 custom-house officers have done their work. Half a 
 dozen United States Navy officers, from the squadron 
 in Chinese and Japanese waters, coming home on 
 leave of absence, come down the after-gangway, and 
 are told to get their luggage all together in one place 
 on the wharf, and it will be passed immediately by the 
 officers. Their lacquered boxes, trunks, open-work, 
 rattan chairs and lounges for reclining upon in a trop- 
 ipical climate, boxes of rare plants, and small collec- 
 tions of "curios" from the far East — West it seems 
 to us — are soon run through, and chalked with the 
 names of the examining officers, and they enter car- 
 riages in waiting, and are driven away to the hotels. 
 A stout-built, manly- looking American, forty years 
 of age or thereabouts, comes down the plank, and a 
 fair-faced woman, who, with her four half-grown-up 
 children around her, has been standing patiently for 
 hours in a corner of the building on the wharf, grows 
 suddenly pale in the face, runs towards him, and with 
 the single exclamation, " O Joe ! " has her arms around 
 his neck in an instant. A few ladies and gentlemen, 
 looking curiously about them, issue from the cabin, 
 point out their luggage on the wharf, receive the 
 proper directions, and, entering carriages admitted 
 through the gates one at a time to receive them, are 
 hurried away, apparently half glad at finding them- 
 selves standing on the solid land once more, half 
 sorry to part from those with whom they have voy- 
 aged across the broad Pacific, and dared the perils of 
 
A CELESTIAL BELLE. 
 
 3" 
 
 the sea. And now from the cabin emerges a tiny 
 creature, clad in costly robes of satin, richly embroid- 
 ered, and stands at the upper end of the plank in the 
 gangway opening, as if in doubt which way to turn or 
 how to proceed. She is not more than four feet in 
 height — slender and qraceful of figure. Her lustrous 
 blue-black hair is puffed out at the sides and fashioned 
 into a wonderful rudder-shaped structure behind, sup- 
 ported with gold and silver skewer-like ornaments 
 thrust through it ; and her head, guiltless of hat or 
 bonnet, is surmounted by a small wreath of bright- 
 colored artificial flowers. Her face is really pretty — 
 the features being delicately formed — despite the ob- 
 liquity of the almond-shaped eyes, and the slight pro- 
 jection of the anything but Grecian nose. Her com- 
 plexion, naturally whiter than that of the common 
 working people of her country, has been so cunningly 
 improved by her maid-servant — who could teach our 
 enamellers and beautifiers the first rudiments of their 
 profession — that she is as fair to look upon as the 
 blonde beauties of our race, and you would hesitate 
 long before you would swear whether the red which 
 tinges her cheeks and lips is real or the work of "high 
 art" in its perfection. Her tunic or sacque is of sky- 
 blue satin, embroidered with flowers in bright-colored 
 silk ; her wide, loose trousers of darker blue satin, 
 similarly but more elaborately embroidered ; and 
 her dainty little feet are encased in slippers of blue 
 satin, with gold- bullion embroidery and thick white 
 felt soles, with thin bottoms of polished wood. In 
 her hand she holds two fans, with which she endeav- 
 
- I2 PROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 ors to keep her face hidden as far as possible from 
 the public gaze. Timid to the last degree she seems, 
 and probably is, and she looks neither to the right 
 nor the left, but keeps her eyes fixed on the plank 
 beneath her, as if anxious to avoid the sight of every- 
 thing else in the world. As she stands there in the 
 open gangway, she looks the perfect counterpart of 
 something we have seen, or dreamed of, before. Ah, 
 yes ; we remember now ! Thirty years ago — fifteen 
 or sixteen years before this little thing was born — 
 our big cousin came home from a sailing voyage 
 round the world, and among the curious things he 
 brought with him was a book of rice-paper, white as 
 snow and soft as velvet, each leaf of which bore a 
 single, wonderfully elaborate little picture, in colors 
 more brilliant than the rainbow ; her picture, correct 
 and perfect in the most minute detail, was there ; no one 
 could fail to recognize it at a glance. She is the bride 
 of an opulent Chinese merchant of San Francisco, 
 who has been home to get her ; his parents selected 
 her for him from one of the most respectable families 
 in the Central Flowery Empire, and he had no trouble 
 with courtino- and such like Caucasian nonsense. He 
 leads her down the plank, the bracelets and bangles 
 of silver and green semi-transparent stone which en- 
 circle her wrists and ankles, clinking musically as she 
 walks ; and at the wharf a policeman, detailed for the 
 purpose, receives and escorts the party through the 
 crowd, which opens respectfully before the end of 
 his club, and they enter a carriage. Another and 
 another come down the plank ; the last two are ac- 
 
JOHN BULL. ..J- 
 
 companied by bright -eyed, richly -dressed children, 
 who follow mechanically in their mother's footsteps, 
 furtively glancing at the strange crowd as they pass 
 through it. These arc the wives and offspring of 
 Chinese merchants resident here, who married before 
 coming to California ; you had better take a good 
 look at them now, while you can, for they — the wo- 
 men and female children — will be kept in the strict- 
 est seclusion from the moment they set foot in their 
 husbands' and fathers' houses, and they may live many 
 years, and die, here in the midst of a great Christian 
 city, and yet never be looked upon by Caucasian 
 eyes. You may purchase exquisite picturcs ; on rice- 
 paper, of these "first-chop" Chinese ladies, at the ba- 
 zaar of Chy Lung & Co., on Sacramento street, but 
 the living married Chinese women or respectable 
 young girls you will never so much as catch a glimpse 
 of, except on such an occasion as this. 
 
 Following the Chinese ladies comes an Englishman 
 returning from the Indies, a broad, burly fellow, with 
 dogged resolution, self-complacency, and a stout, un- 
 conquerable determination to grumble at everything 
 he meets in "this blarsted country, you know," traced 
 upon every lineament. His feet are encased in clumsy 
 thick-soled gaiters, his nether limbs in gray, very 
 scant cassimere pantaloons, which hang limp as with- 
 ered cabbage leaves round his ankles ; a coat, broader 
 than it is long, covers his shoulders, and reaches down 
 just below his waist, and on his head is a hideous 
 Monitor-shaped hat, as large as the shell of a green 
 turtle, and as unmanageable and badly out of place 
 
„ T1 FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 3 X 4 
 
 in the San Francisco summer trade- winds as a balloon 
 in a western tornado. Surely we have seen some- 
 where the counterpart of this figure also ; yes, it was 
 years ago, when we were laid up with a broken leg, 
 and the fever of our waking hours was followed by 
 the nightmare in our troubled sleep. 
 
 The custom-house officers have done their work 
 here quickly, and perhaps effectually, and now all is 
 ready at the forward gangway. A living stream of 
 the blue-coated men of Asia, bearing long bamboo 
 poles across their shoulders, from which depend pack- 
 ages of bedding, matting, clothing, and things of 
 which we know neither the names nor the uses, pours 
 down the plank the moment that the word is given, 
 " All ready ! " They appear to be of an average age 
 of twenty-five years — very few being under fifteen, 
 and none apparently over forty years — and though 
 somewhat less in stature than Caucasians, healthy, 
 active, and able-bodied to a man. As they come 
 down upon the wharf, they separate into messes or 
 gangs of ten, twenty, or thirty each, and, being rec- 
 ognized through some (to us) incomprehensible free- 
 masonry system of signs by the agents of the "Six 
 Companies" as they come, are assigned places on the 
 lono-, broad-shedded wharf which has been cleared 
 especially for their accommodation and the conveni- 
 ence of the customs officers. Each man carries on his 
 shoulders, or in his hands, his entire earthly posses- 
 sions, and few are overloaded. There are no mer- 
 chants or business men among them, all being of the 
 coolie or laboring class. They are all dressed in 
 
PANDEMONIUM. 
 
 315 
 
 coarse but clean and new blue cotton blouses and 
 loose baggy breeches, blue cotton-cloth stockings 
 which reach to the knee, and slippers or shoes with 
 heavy wooden soles; these last they will discard for 
 American boots when they go up country to work in 
 the dust and mud ; and most of them carry one or 
 two broad-brimmed hats of split bamboo, and huge 
 palm-leaf fans, to shield them from the burning sun 
 in the mountains or valleys of California, or the fertile 
 fields of the south, towards which many of them will 
 eventually direct their steps. There is a babel of un- 
 couth cries and harsh discordant yells, accompanied 
 by whimsically energetic gestures and convulsive 
 facial distortions, as the members of the different 
 gangs recognize each other in the crowd, and search 
 out the places assigned them. The luggage is de- 
 posited on the wharf, and each group squat on the 
 planking, or stand silently beside their little property, 
 waiting in patience and perfectly soldier-like order the 
 arrival of the officers who are to search them for 
 smuggled goods. "Here, this way!" "Here, here 
 on this side!" "There, over there on that side!" 
 shout the policemen, as they swing their clubs about 
 and frantically endeavor to direct the tide, often really 
 creating disorder among these most orderly and me- 
 thodical people, who would get things straightened 
 twice as quickly without such assistance. For two 
 mortal hours the blue stream pours down from the 
 steamer upon the wharf; a regiment has landed al- 
 ready, and still they come. The wharf is covered with 
 them so densely that the passage-way for carriages 
 
- l (5 FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 through the centre can with difficulty be kept open, 
 and yet the stream is not broken for a single moment. 
 You wonder where such a swarm of human beings 
 found stowage room — the bulk seems greater than 
 that of the steamer — and wonder still more when 
 told that the vessel with all these on board had still 
 room for a carofo of thousands of tons ; her freight- 
 capacity being some six thousand tons, and her cus- 
 tom house registry measurement between four and 
 five thousand. This steamer actually brought one 
 thousand two hundred and seventy-two Chinamen ; 
 last week one thousand two hundred came by sailing 
 vessels, and behind them are yet four hundred mill- 
 ions of the most patient, ready, apt, and industrious 
 toilers on the face of the earth. 
 
 The writer shares none of the prejudice against 
 this people which is manifested so strongly by the 
 lower order of the European-born residents of Cali- 
 fornia, and leads to so many disgraceful acts of vio- 
 lence and outrage ; but such a si^ht as this awakens 
 curious thoughts, and suggests doubts of the future 
 in the mind of every one who has made political 
 economy and free institutions a study to any extent. 
 The Chinese-labor question is destined within the 
 next ten years — five years, perhaps — to become what 
 the slavery question was a few years since, to break 
 down, revolutionize, and reorganize parties, com- 
 pletely change the industrial system of many of our 
 States and Territories, and modify the destiny of our 
 country for generations to come. Educated, think- 
 inq- men do not, as a rule, fear the result, nor see in 
 
OPIUM SMUGGLING. ., T - 
 
 this vast semi-civilized immigration any danger to 
 republican institutions ; nevertheless, it is a move- 
 ment fraught with mighty consequences for good or 
 ill, and the question demands and must receive a 
 most careful consideration in all its bearings. Com- 
 merce, religion, politics, capital and labor, education, 
 our whole social fabric, must be affected more or less. 
 Occident and Orient stand face to face at last, and 
 the meeting must signalize a notable era in the his- 
 tory of mankind. 
 
 The customs agents search the person of every 
 Chinaman as he lands, and <zo through the luofcraofe 
 of every group or mess as thoroughly as possible, in 
 quest of opium, the one blighting curse of China, for 
 which she may thank Christian England, and for 
 which her children will run any risk and bear any 
 privation. The deadly drug is so costly in propor- 
 tion to its bulk, that, next to gold and precious stones, 
 it offers the greatest inducement for smuggling ; and 
 on the arrival of every steamer and sailing vessel 
 from China, large seizures are made by the officers. 
 On this occasion one officer detected and confiscated 
 forty boxes of opium, each worth eight or ten dollars 
 in coin, which had been concealed in the false bottom 
 of a box containing merchandise of comparatively 
 small value. To do them justice, we should say that 
 one of the Chinese companies' agents directed the 
 officer's attention to the box, and so caused him to 
 make the discovery. Another officer discovered a 
 suspicious" protuberance on the person of a China- 
 man, and had just reached out his hand to examine 
 
- j 5 FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 it, when the lriofhtened Celestial filing from him into 
 the bay half a dozen boxes of the poison. Bladders 
 of it, flattened out like pancakes, were found con- 
 cealed in the linings of blankets or bed-quilts, and 
 the stuffed under-garments worn by some of the men. 
 In all, several thousand dollars' worth thus fell into 
 the hands of the officers, and a moiety of its value 
 will go into the treasury of Uncle Sam, if the costs 
 cannot be made large enough to swallow up all his 
 share. 
 
 Fifteen or twenty Chinese girls — the poor raft and 
 boat born women of Canton, trained, from childhood, 
 to lewdness, and as utterly ignorant of the ways of 
 virtue or any sense of shame or moral responsibility 
 as so many blocks of wood — were landed also ; some 
 steamers bring them by hundreds, in spite of the ef- 
 forts of the "Six Companies " to discourage the traffic. 
 These women signed contracts, in China, to serve 
 their masters a given number of years for their pass- 
 age-money, board and clothing, and, despite our 
 laws, will submit to live and die in a slavery more 
 horrible than any other that ever existed on earth ; 
 all efforts of our authorities to break it up having 
 proved utterly unavailing. As they land, they are 
 searched in no delicate manner by the officers, and 
 then received by their purchasers, and delivered into 
 the charge of the sallow old hags in black costume, 
 with bunches of keys in the girdles at their waists, who 
 are called "old mothers," and who will hold them in 
 horrible bondage and collect the waees of their sin — 
 if they who have no moral responsibility can be said 
 
"SO J LED DOVES." , IQ 
 
 to sin — for the remainder of their days. The girls 
 are dressed in silk or cotton tunics and trousers, 
 similar in shape and color to those worn by the mar- 
 ried ladies, but far less costly, are painted gaudily on 
 cheeks and lips, and wear on their heads the checked 
 cotton handkerchiefs which are the badge of prostitu- 
 tion. They are jeered and "hi-hied" by the crowd 
 of common Chinamen waiting outside the gates, as 
 they pass out to enter the open express wagons wait- 
 ing to receive them and carry them away to the dens 
 in Murderers' Alley and along the Barbary Coast. 
 As fast as the groups of coolies have been succes- 
 sively searched, they are turned out of the gates, and 
 hurried away towards the Chinese quarter of the city 
 by the agents of the "Six Companies." Some go in 
 wagons, more on foot ; and the streets leading up 
 that way are lined with them, running in "Indian 
 file," and carrying their luggage suspended from the 
 ends of the bamboo poles slung across their should- 
 ers. By nightfall the throng has dispersed, the work 
 of the officers is over, and the vast wharf is cleared 
 for the deli\ ery of the immense cargo in the hold of 
 the steamer. 
 
 This cargo is made up of articles in a great measure 
 strange to the people of the Atlantic States ; and for 
 their benefit the lLt is copied out in full from the 
 manifest, as follows : 
 
 For San Francisco : 90 packages cassia ; 940 pack- 
 ages coffee, from Java and Manila; 192 packages 
 fire-crackers , 30 packages dried fish, cuttle-fish, 
 shark's fins, etc.; 400 packages hemp; 116 packages 
 
, 2Q FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 miscellaneous merchandise, lacquered goods, porce- 
 lain-ware, and things for which we have no special 
 names ; 5 3 packages medicines ; 1 8 packages opium ; 
 16 packages plants; 20 packages potatoes; 25 pack- 
 ages rattans; 2,755 packages rice; 1,238 packages 
 sundries — chow-chow, preserved fruits, salted melon- 
 seeds, dried ducks, pickled duck's eggs, cabbage 
 sprouts in brine, candied citron, dates, dwarf oranges, 
 ginger, smoked oysters, and a hundred other Chinese 
 edibles and table luxuries; 824 packages sugar; 20 
 packages silks; 203 packages sago and tapioca; 
 5,468 packages tea; 27 packages tin. 
 
 For New York ; 2 packages merchandise ; 2 1 pack- 
 ages sundries ; 1 50 packages silks ; 465 packages 
 teas ; 1 44 packages rhubarb ; 9 packages hardware. 
 
 For Panama, 1 package opium ; 1 package sun- 
 dries ; 115 packages tea. 
 
 It is not the tea season, and this cargo is conse- 
 quently a small one comparatively — nothing, in fact, 
 to what is sometimes landed from a China steamer ; 
 though, as will be seen from the foregoing manifest, 
 it comprises no less than 13,354 packages of mer- 
 chandise, many of them of large size — a small mount- 
 ain in the aggregate. 
 
 Having enjoyed to the utmost the pleasure of a 
 new sensation, we leave the wharf, meditating on the 
 strange scene which we have beheld, and wondering 
 what is to be the end of all this, and wend our way 
 back to Montgomery street. Sitting by the fruit- 
 laden table in our own room in the evening, and 
 breathing the air charged with the odors of the fairest 
 
WAS IT A DREAM f - 2I 
 
 (lowers that bloom, a doubt arises in our mind, and 
 we begin to inquire if there was in sober truth any 
 such scene as we fancy we have been witnessing-. 
 Was that little oval-faced woman, clad in blue, pur- 
 ple, crimson and gold, shrinking in speechless fear 
 from the strange throng around her, a being of flesh 
 and blood after all, or a creature of the imagination? 
 Did we actually see her come out of the great black 
 steamer's cabin and stand there hesitating in the 
 gangway, or have we been gazing at some brilliantly- 
 tinted picture from the land where Marco Polo jour- 
 neyed centuries ago, until one of the figures took on 
 itself the semblance of life and action, and walked 
 forth from its frame? Was it not in fact all a dream? 
 A dream, we would almost swear! And yet a dream 
 it could not have been, we find when we come to 
 reflect upon it. There is the card of admission to the 
 wharf, still lying on the table before us ; that is tangi- 
 ble and real at least. The sunlight which the waters 
 of the bay of San Francisco glistened under, and 
 which flooded with its golden glory the mountains of 
 Contra Costa and Alameda, looked and felt real. 
 We can still hear the roar of many voices shouting 
 in an unknown tongue, and see the stream of men in 
 blue blouses, with shaven foreheads, and with long 
 braided queues of glossy black hair and silk hanging 
 down their backs. The strange odor of Asiatic to- 
 bacco, spices, opium — 
 
 " Mandragora, 
 And all the drowsy syrups of ilie world," 
 
 which pervaded ship and cargo, still clings to our 
 
„ J2 fROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 clothing, and finds its way into our nostrils. It was 
 real, wholly real, after all! We have indeed stood 
 on the farther shore of the New World, and seen the 
 human tides which have surged round the globe 
 from opposite directions meet and commingle, and 
 have beheld the yellow flag, emblazoned with the 
 red-dragon, emblem of the " Lord of the whole Earth 
 and Brother of the Sun and Moon" — master of the 
 oldest nation which the sun shines upon — and the 
 starry emblem of a sovereign people, " By the Grace 
 of God Free and Independent," floating side by side. 
 It was a sisfht worth living lonof and coming far to 
 look upon — a scene to wonder at, to ponder over and 
 reflect upon — to gaze upon once and remember 
 through all the coming years of life — a scene such as 
 our fathers never beheld nor dreamed of, and of which 
 our children's children only may know the full import 
 and meaning". 
 
 The rainy season is over at last, and we are thank- 
 ful for it. We arc weary of the city, its vices, its 
 crimes and its follies, already. All cities are much 
 alike after all, varying only in minor details, but the 
 mountains; God be praised for them. There we shall 
 find change and beaut)', sunshine, pure air, freedom, 
 and rest. 
 
 As the steamer approaches the Golden Gate, one 
 of the most striking features of the glorious landscape 
 which unfolds itself before the eyes of the traveler, is 
 the bold crest of Mount Diablo standing out clear 
 and sharp against the blue sky, over beyond the Con- 
 tra Costa hills to the eastward of the Bav of San 
 
ArOUXT DIABLO, „ ,> 
 
 .3-2 
 
 Francisco. As he walks the streets of the Golden 
 City he sees it still before him, and as he ascends the 
 Sacramento or San Joaquin, it confronts at every turn 
 and bend of the winding - stream, every change in his 
 position revealing some new feature in the scene. 
 
 When he ascends the Sierra Nevada, on his way to 
 the Yosemitc, or climbs farther up to the line of eter- 
 nal snow, and looks back toward the Pacific, the 
 dark mountain looms up grander and more beautiful 
 than ever, seeming to have increased in size while he 
 has been climbing heavenward, and looming up appar- 
 ently thousands of feet higher in the blue, hazy at- 
 mosphere than when he stood at its base in the valley 
 miles and miles below. Located near the junction of 
 the two great rivers which drain the vast interior 
 basin of California between the Sierra Nevada and 
 the Coast Range, it rises abruptly from the plain to 
 a height of nearly 4,000 feet ; and standing isolated 
 and solitary, with no rivals to dwarf it by comparison 
 or detract from the effect of the picture — it is pre- 
 eminently the great central feature of the landscape, 
 travel which way you may. Placed by the side of 
 Mount Shasta, or the high peaks of the Sierra, Mount 
 Diablo would sink into insignificance, but standing 
 alone in solitary grandeur, he is monarch of the land. 
 No other mountain peak in America, perhaps in the 
 world, commands a view of such wide extent of coun- 
 try and so wonderful and varied scenery ; and he 
 who has not ascended to its summit, certainly has 
 not seen and can form no clear idea of California. 
 
 Old Californians of Spanish-American origin will 
 
n 2 * FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 tell you, with an earnestness which impresses you 
 with the sincerity of their belief in what they say, 
 that three fourths of a century ago a vaqucro, chasing 
 a stray band of cattle, ascended the mountain nearly 
 to the summit, when he came suddenly upon a cavern 
 from which issued great sheets of flame and clouds of 
 sulphurous smoke, and he felt at once that he stood 
 at the door of the abode of the Enemy of Mankind. 
 Crossing himself with trembling hand, he devoutly 
 repeated a prayer to Mary Mother, and turning his 
 horse's head, rode regardless of risk to life and limb, 
 looking not backward until he stood among his friends 
 in the valley below, and told them of the wonder he 
 had seen. From that time the mountain bore the 
 name of him who was supposed to make his abode 
 in its depths, and no man's foot intruded among its 
 lonely defiles and savage canons until the Los Ameri- 
 canos, who feared neither God, man, nor devil, came 
 and possessed the land, carried their surveying instru- 
 ments to its summit, and there set up a rude monu- 
 ment of stone, which serves as a base for the surveys 
 throughout all Alta California. The fire which the 
 vaqucro beheld, or thought he beheld, has burned out 
 long years ago, if it ever existed ; the cavern, if ever 
 there was a cavern, has been closed to human eyes, 
 and the superstitious dread with which the mountain 
 was regarded has passed away with the simple people 
 we have dispossessed, and the order of things which 
 we have overturned. Thus much for the mountain 
 as we see it at a distance, and the name it bears. 
 It was a pleasant afternoon early in the month 
 
A PARTY OF FOUR. ^ 2 c 
 
 of May, 1866, when a party of four, including the 
 writer, went on board the Oakland ferry steamer 
 "Washoe," at San Francisco, bound for Mount Diablo. 
 The swift steamer in half an hour landed us at the 
 Oakland railroad wharf, and we started off for the ride 
 across the country. Two of the party, Dr. James 
 Murphy and Dr. James D. Whitney, Jr., eminent 
 men in their profession in San Francisco, rode in 
 a light carriage, with a span of fast-trotting horses ; 
 while R. H. Lloyd, Esq., a prominent young lawyer, 
 and myself were on horseback. Lloyd rode a beau- 
 tiful, spirited, and very fleet-footed California horse, 
 of a pale gold color, and with a mane and tail like 
 spun silver — "Silvertail" they called him; while I 
 was mounted on my pet, "Juanita," a bright. bay 
 California mare, with great brown eyes, widely dis- 
 tended nostrils and clean limbs, which could carry her 
 over the ground as fast as any mortal man would 
 care to ride. 
 
 Poor Juanita! How bitterly do I remember spring- 
 ing to my feet, after a troubled sleep, one glorious 
 moonlight night a year later, in the Great Colorado 
 Valley, and at a glance discovering that she had been 
 stolen from beside me as I slept ! I ran out into the 
 open ground and called aloud, "Juanita! Juanita!" 
 but there came no answer. Half frantic, I searched 
 all around for tracks, and soon found the prints of her 
 dainty hoofs in the soft soil. Alas! a long-pointed 
 moccassin track was beside them, and a little farther 
 on I discovered where the accursed Chimahuevis thief 
 had mounted her and ridden off at a gallop across the 
 
- 2 g FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 sandy desert toward the desolate Chimahuevis mount- 
 ains; and I knew that pursuit was useless, for long ere 
 I could have reached the rancJicria of the accursed 
 tribe, their long sharp knives had slashed her silky 
 throat, and her plump, round form had furnished food 
 for the savages, to whom I also then owed a debt of 
 hatred and revenge. I paid it well in after days ; 
 but let us turn back towards Mount Diablo. 
 
 From the landing at Oakland to Clayton, at the 
 foot of the mountain, is thirty miles, up hill and down 
 We ride at a gallop through the quiet streets of Oak- 
 land, the most beautiful and flourishing of the sub- 
 urban towns around San Francisco Bay ; passing 
 elegant residences standing embowered anions the 
 great spreading live oaks, which gave the place its 
 name; deep green acacias, which in this climate 
 never shed their feathery leaves ; rose trees, loaded 
 down with flowers of every hue, the fragrance of 
 which pervades the dreamy, soft, voluptuous, lan- 
 guid air ; fuschias, hanging like banners of living flame 
 from trellis- work, arbor and broad veranda; and, in 
 short, all the flowers which, gathered from every 
 land beneath the sun, have become acclimated here ; 
 passing churches, school-houses, and college-buildings, 
 through a long, wide lane, leading between thrifty 
 orchards filled with ripening cherries, apricots, plums, 
 nectarines, peaches, apples, pears, and wide acres cov- 
 ered with richly-bearing strawberry, blackberry and 
 raspberry plants, where the Chinese laborers are at 
 work in their broad bamboo hats and blue blouses, 
 in rows like Louisianian slaves in the "good old 
 
ROADSIDE SCENERY. ~ 2 j 
 
 time," now gone forever, gathering the luscious fruit 
 for the San Francisco market, and emerge at last on 
 the open farming country which stretches up to the 
 high hills of Alameda, over which our road leads. At 
 the foot of the hills \vc halt a moment, to rest and 
 water man and beast, then strike into a winding 
 canon, which leads us up by an easy grade toward 
 the summit of the hills. A little stream of pure, 
 bright water comes down the canon, and, as we splash 
 through it from time to time, we catch odimoses of 
 hares and rabbits scudding away into the chapparal, 
 and the beautiful tufted quail of California rise in pairs 
 and whirr away to the leafy coverts where their nests 
 arc concealed. The sides of the canon are densely 
 covered with the vine-like shrub known as the "poi- 
 son-oak" which affects some people so terribly, even 
 the wind blowing over it poisoning them so as to 
 produce frightful swellings and eruptions of the face 
 and glands, blindness, deafness, and sometimes even 
 death itself. This plant has no effect whatever on 
 any animal, nor on many men. The writer has chewed 
 its fresh leaves, and handled it with perfect impunity. 
 There are dog-roses and many wild flowers of brilliant 
 hue, of which we do not know the names. The sum- 
 mit reached at last, we stop at a roadside inn to rest 
 and "recruit" — gentle reader, if you ever travel in 
 California you will learn what that means — and look 
 back for a few minutes at the glorious panorama of 
 the Bay of San Francisco and its surroundings : the 
 white-winged ships coming and going from and to 
 the uttermost parts of the earth — the steamers thread- 
 
^ 2 g FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 ino- the blue waters, and the thousand evidences of life 
 and progress developed in a few short years by the 
 indomitable energy of our people on this outer edge 
 of the continent — this western outpost of the Great 
 Republic. On again, down a broad, graded road, 
 which is cut along the side of a canon, leading east- 
 ward among beautifully-rounded hills, covered with a 
 dense growth of wild oats to their very summits, 
 across a narrow valley, and up over the broken lull- 
 range of Las Trampas, and down once more into 
 a broad, beautiful valley, filled with farm-houses and 
 wide fields of ripening grain, which seem wonderfully 
 like those of the prairie country of Illinois. We pass 
 through two or three country villages, each consisting 
 of a store or two, post-office and express-office com- 
 bined, a hotel, billiard-saloon, and two or three small 
 rum-mills, and stop to refresh at each. 
 
 The sun is sinking behind the Western hills when 
 we pass up by a short cut through a winding caiion 
 filled with wild mustard plants, as high as our horses' 
 heads, through which we push our animals with diffi- 
 culty, and emerge on a gravelly, unfenccd and uncul- 
 tivated plain, which stretches away to the foot of 
 Mount Diablo, and catch a glimpse of Clayton, where 
 wc propose to pass the night. The company all 
 together, wc propose a taste of fragrant pisco (Peru- 
 vian white brandy) all round, sundry bottles of that 
 and other refreshments having been stowed away un- 
 der the seat of the carriage in which the doctors are 
 riding. Something knocks Dr. Murphy's hat off, and 
 I, Greaser style, swing down from my saddle, catch 
 
A QUICK J? IDE. „ 2Q 
 
 It from the ground, and slip it over my own. A laugh 
 at his expense, and he offers me a chance at the bottle 
 of pisco for the hat. I take the bottle and jump 
 back just in time to avoid a swinging - cut from 
 his horsewhip, and in an instant we are off on a race 
 across the plain. The doctor binds his head with a 
 handkerchief, giving himself the air of a Bedouin of the 
 desert, and lashes his horses into a "dead run" to over- 
 take me, but in vain, and he coaxes and threatens by 
 turns, as we allow him to get almost alongside of 
 us to tantalize him, and then dash off again at a 
 gallop. Silvertail and Juanita are mad for another 
 brush, and Lloyd and myself leave the doctors far 
 behind, and "go in" with a will to sec who shall reach 
 Clayton first. Now Silvertail makes a sudden dash 
 and passes ahead, sending the gravel flying back from 
 his hoofs in such volleys that I must perforce shield 
 my eyes and get to one side as soon as possible ; 
 then Juanita, with a snort, closes into the work and 
 shoots ahead, compelling him to yield the road in 
 turn. Just as the day is closing and the soft twilight 
 falls, we dash neck and neck into Clayton, rein up 
 our panting steeds before the "Ironclad Hotel," and 
 dismount, having ridden over the mountains and 
 across two hill-ranges, thirty good miles, in just three 
 hours and forty-five minutes, stoppages included. 
 
 Round, red, and full the moon rises over the east- 
 ern hills and floods the landscape with golden glory, 
 bringing out the peaks of the mountain, and every 
 rock, hill, and glen in masses of sharply contrasted 
 light and shadow, very grand to behold. Supper 
 
„ „ n FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 over, we sit, chat, and smoke our cigarritos around 
 the doorway until bedtime ; then give orders for a 
 guide, an early breakfast and a lunch to take with us 
 up the mountain, and retire to rest. 
 
 Daybreak sees us up and making ready for the as- 
 cent of the mountain which looms up right before us 
 with its walls of rugged rock, which look altogether 
 impassable. A good breakfast disposed of and we 
 are all in the saddle — no carriage can ascend the 
 mountain — and away up a little valley, dotted with 
 patches of vineyards and young orchards, into a deep, 
 dark canon which leads right into the depths of the 
 mountain. Larks and robins are sin^ingr in the black 
 beech and water- maple trees by the roadside, as we 
 gallop along; and, as we ascend the defile, we look 
 down upon the bright waters of a purling brook com- 
 ing out of the mountain, in which we see the spotted 
 mountain trout of California playing as we used to see 
 them in the brooks of New England so long ago that 
 we do not care — I might say do not dare — to count the 
 years between. Soon the road leaves the bed of the 
 stream, and becomes a narrow path, cut with infinite 
 labor along the side of a precipice, over which you 
 can look as you ride along, and drop a stone down 
 hundreds of feet before it strikes the rocks, and goes 
 bounding and awakening echoes down to the bottom 
 of the canon. There is no room for two horses to 
 go abreast, and we wind along in Indian file up, up, 
 up, toward the blue sky above us. The bridle-path 
 becomes at last a mere trail — dim and indistinct ; but 
 we press on, passing the first peak, ,vai 'irrive at a 
 
DEER FLAT. 
 
 331 
 
 point where our horses must be recinched, to prevent 
 the saddles slipping over their tails and dumping us 
 over the precipice, as they go up an acclivity steeper 
 and more difficult of ascent than any we have as yet 
 encountered. This matter of cinching a California 
 mustang is no trifling feat for a green hand to essay. 
 The wide band of woven horsehair, known as the 
 cinch, is drawn up by the powerful purchase on the 
 latigo strap until it deeply imbeds itself in the animal's 
 belly, causing him to swell himself up like a toad to 
 resist the pressure, and not unfrequently — especially 
 if he sees that you are a stranger at the business — to 
 commence a rearing 1 , plunging", kicking, and biting 
 performance, involving danger to life and limb. 
 
 We soon reached Deer Flat, a little park-like plat- 
 eau, in a sheltered nook within a mile of the top of 
 the mountain, and stopped for a breathing spell. A 
 few years ago, when all California was wild with excite- 
 ment and everybody was getting rich — on paper — 
 from wild-cat mining stocks, every hill and mountain 
 around San Francisco was bored, and tunnelled, and 
 drifted in search of gold and silver bearing quartz. 
 Claims were actually staked off in the streets of San 
 Francisco, and companies formed to work them, on 
 the strength of a few wandering bits of metalliferous 
 rock having been picked up here and there. The 
 prospectors pushed their way up here into the rocky 
 defiles of Mount Diablo, and finding traces of gold, 
 silver and copper, organized dozens of companies to 
 work the "leads." For months the deep gorges of 
 the mountain echoed the sound of the sledge, the 
 
332 
 
 FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 pick and the drill, and the loud reports of the blasts 
 let off to disengage the rock which hid from the eager 
 eyes of the miners boundless stores of imaginary 
 wealth. It is all over now and silent as the grave, 
 save when a wandering party of pleasure -seekers 
 penetrates here, as we have done, or the hunter climbs 
 the rocky peaks in search of deer or a stray grizzly 
 bear, and awakes the mountain echoes with the sharp 
 crack of his rifle. Here, at Deer Flat, a comfortable 
 house had been erected, and the superintendent of a 
 mine, a Mexican, had made his headquarters. A 
 vegetable-garden, run to weeds and climbing vines, 
 a field of volunteer barley — into which we turn our 
 panting horses without a question — and a trellised 
 arbor, covered with sweet peas and climbing plants in 
 full bloom, which a woman's loving hand must have 
 planted and trained, tell of the industry and taste of 
 those who once made their home in this wild mount- 
 ain eyrie. A drink of cold water from a running 
 spring, with the chill taken off it by an admixture of 
 fitsco, is heartily enjoyed after the hard ride, and we 
 are soon ready for another climb. Up a steep hill- 
 side, past tall pine trees, like those of the Sierra 
 Nevada, along a steep, narrow " hog-back" of crum- 
 bling, shelvy stone, running through a waste of the 
 bitter, worthless ekemisai, a plant which grows only 
 on land too barren to support anything else ; then up 
 another sharper and more stony hill, and we pass 
 through a scrubby thicket, and suddenly emerge on 
 the summit of the mountain. 
 
 We stand for a moment in silence, looking down 
 
A GLORIOUS LANDSCAPE. »«« 
 
 on the world at our feet. Words utterly fail to con- 
 vey the faintest idea of the grandeur of the scene 
 which bursts on our startled vision. I have ascended 
 mountains higher than this, but never beheld such a 
 scene as that below me, as I stood looking down, as 
 upon a map, upon the vast country spread out on 
 every side. The view was unbroken from the mount- 
 ains to the sea, and what a scene ! The sun was 
 hiofh in the heavens ; it was nine o'clock, and the 
 whole landscape was bathed in his glory. Turning 
 naturally eastward at first, we see in the far distance 
 the whole vast range of the Sierra Nevada ; mount- 
 ain piled on mountain, stretching to the limits of the 
 vision north and south, with summits white with 
 snow, glistening in the rays of the summer sun, be- 
 neath which the dwellers in the valleys are sweating 
 at their toil. Northward the black buttes of Marys- 
 villc, far away in Yuba county, bound the view. 
 Southward you look away over the billowy hills and 
 fresh smiling valleys to the mountains of the Coast 
 Range, old Loma Prieta, a hundred miles or more 
 away in Santa Cruz, being the last object distinguish- 
 able. Westward the ranges of Las Trampas and 
 Alameda, and over them, the high peak of Tamalpais 
 to the northward of the Golden Gate. Far away to 
 the northwest, where Napa, Lake, and Sonoma coun- 
 ties meet, is dimly discernible the summit of Mount 
 St. Helens. A white mist is on the western horizon, 
 but, even as we gaze, the curtain unrolls and lifts 
 from the scene, and we see the city of the Pacific, 
 proud San Francisco, the Golden Gate, and the blue 
 
- , , FROM THE 0R/E.V7 DIRECT. 
 
 ocean beyond, aye, even a steamer far out at sea, 
 heading for the portal of the golden land. The bay 
 of San Francisco is only partly visible, but we see on 
 its bosom the dark form of Yerba Buena Island, and 
 the steamers Washoe and Alameda plying- to and 
 from Oakland and the Encinal de Alameda, crowded 
 with pleasure-seekers going over the bay for a Sun- 
 day's amusement, the shipping lying thickly around 
 the wharves upon the city front. The rock fortress 
 of Alcatraz, bristling with heavy guns, rising tier on 
 tier from the water's edcfc, and surmounted with bar- 
 racks and officers' quarters, painted of a peach bloom 
 color, can be readily distinguished, and as a heavy 
 bank of mist drifts in and covers it for a few minutes, 
 we almost fancy that our ears catch the deep boom- 
 ing of the fog bell, 
 
 " The weary warden that o'er sea and marshes 
 Monotonously calls, 
 The challenge to the foe whose stealthy marches 
 Invest the city's walls." 
 
 A fog- bank, white as driven snow, drifts swiftly 
 up the Marin county shore, slides over Lime Point, 
 and fills the defiles of Tamalpais, whose summit, cut 
 off from his base, apparently rocks and pitches in the 
 surging billows like the wreck of some proud ship, 
 tossed in the breakers on a stormy coast. The mist 
 is gone again, and the Presidio of San Francisco, with 
 its long lines of barracks, and Fort Point, with its red 
 brick fortress, stand out so plainly, that we look in 
 momentary expectation of seeing the glinting of the 
 muskets of the sentries in the sunlight, as they turn 
 in their silent round and glance seaward for the foe 
 
A SCEA'E OF BEAUTY. , , h 
 
 who never comes. The bay of San Pablo is nearly 
 all visible, and the bay of Suisun, with its surface 
 dotted with sails, lies uncovered before us. The blue 
 of the sky overhead mingles with the blue of the sea 
 in the west, all the middle ground is emerald green, 
 and white and cold gleam the summits of the Sierra 
 along the whole eastern horizon. Martinez, Pacheco, 
 Alamo, San Ramon, Lafayette and Clayton lie at our 
 feet ; it seems as if you might toss a stone into either 
 of them from where we stand ; and, on the other 
 side of the straits of Carquinez, Benicia, and Vallejo, 
 with every building plain and distinct, are to be seen. 
 Suisun, Rio Vista and Freeport, farther northward, 
 are plainly visible, and we see Sacramento, embow- 
 ered in shade trees, distinctly in the northeast. Nearer 
 where we stand, we see long threads of yellow water 
 twistincf and winding 1 amono- tule marshes and low 
 plains. It seems hardly possible that one of these is 
 the lordly Sacramento, whose waters are thick with 
 the earth from a thousand hills, being washed down 
 by the miners in their search for gold, and on whose 
 bosom is borne the commerce and treasure of the 
 State, and the lands beyond the Sierra. Coming in 
 from the southwest is another winding stream of 
 somewhat purer water, and the eye follows it up 
 through vast, treeless plains to the southward,. until 
 the limit of vision is reached, and it glitters in the sun- 
 light on the edge of the horizon I.'ke a broken bit of 
 rainbow on a cloud ; this is the San Joaquin. The 
 dozen lesser rivers emptying into one or the other 
 are hardly distinguishable in the bayous and natural 
 
„„£ 1-ROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 canals which cut up the tule marshes in all directions. 
 Eternal Winter looks clown from the snow-capped 
 summits of the Sierra Nevada on Summer, in all her 
 riches, in the valleys below us, and we, looking at 
 both by turns, have but to cast our eyes toward San 
 Francisco, where summer heat is never fully felt, and 
 winter's cold never comes, to see eternal Spring. 
 Tropical heat is felt, and tropical fruits flourish in the 
 valleys of Sacramento and the San Joaquin, and up 
 on yonder mountains, near the limit of human habita- 
 tion, the climate and productions of New England 
 may be found. The gold placers of the foothills, the 
 quartz ranges of the mountains, the wide valleys and 
 rich alluvial bottom lands, resembling those of the 
 Delta of the Mississippi, along the Sacramento and 
 San Joaquin, the vine-clad hills of Napa and Sonoma, 
 the great pine forests of the upper mountains, the 
 boundless pastures of Contra Costa and Alameda, all 
 lie before us. Without Le Safe's demon's mft, we 
 look down into the dooryards, and upon the roofs of 
 half the dwellers in all the goodly land of California. 
 Pacheco Valley, rich with the broad acres of ripening 
 grain, where the reapers are already at work ; Moragua 
 Valley, green as an emerald lake, where the hay- 
 makers are ; Livermore, San Ramon, Nashau, Marsh, 
 Walnut, and a dozen other valleys, are around us. 
 There is grass enough standing in the valleys beneath 
 us, to feed countless thousands of cattle, but since the 
 great drouth of 1863-4, the country is almost stripped 
 of live stock, and we look over miles on miles of pas- 
 ture, in which we cannot discern a single animal. To 
 
THE BEST VIEW MISSED. nnj 
 
 the southwest, half way clown the mountain side, we 
 see a lovely little lake, which seems the abode of 
 fairies. No human habitation is within miles of it, 
 and it is the haunt of wild game, hare, rabbits, quail, 
 doves, even grizzly bears it is said, are sometimes to 
 be found there. As we look down upon it, we see 
 a herd of brown deer wading around in its clear 
 waters, or lying at ease under the broad spreading 
 live oaks around it. We could sit and gaze and dream 
 for days, if we had the time to spare, and even then 
 not be able to recount the half of the glories and the 
 beauties of the wondrous panorama of mountain, 
 plain, river, ocean, city, village, bay, forest, and bound- 
 less valley spread before us. 
 
 But the sun is already climbing high overhead, and 
 approaching the meridian, and we. have at least forty 
 good miles ride yet before nightfall; so we hastily 
 discuss our luncheon, wondering all the time, as we 
 look down from the heights to which we have climbed, 
 at the stupidity of those who dwell in the land below 
 us. Of the two hundred and fifty thousand people 
 who glance up at the peak where we are sitting, every 
 day of their lives, not a thousand ever stood where 
 we are standing, and beheld what we behold. And yet 
 people leave San Francisco by every steamer to travel 
 over Europe, or climb the pigmy heights of Mount 
 Washington or the Catskills in search of the grand 
 and beautiful in nature, and the "Colfax party" crossed 
 the continent in search of wonders, and missed the 
 grandest scene of all. Well, this is a very queerworld. 
 
 Luncheon finished, we make a punch from the last 
 22 
 
j, 8 FROM THE ORIENT DIRECT. 
 
 of the pisco, and on the principle of always speaking 
 well of the person whose hospitality you are enjoying, 
 solemnly drink the health of " San Diablo," fancying 
 to ourselves the wink and chuckle in which the old 
 gentleman indulged when he heard that pious prefix 
 to his name announced. One more look all around 
 the horizon — over at the ocean to the westward — 
 across the great interior valley of California to the 
 great Sierra on the eastward, where delicate coral 
 hues are beginning to flush the snow-fields glittering 
 in the noonday sun; southward and northward to 
 where the earth and sky joined to shut off the vision 
 — then loosened the cinches of our Spanish saddles, 
 and rearranged them, to prevent their sliding forward 
 over the horses' heads in the descent, and regretfully 
 started down the mountain. YVc had gone but a few 
 rods, when somebody gave a yell, and off went all the 
 horses on a gallop over rocks and shelving hillsides, 
 where to stumble was to insure a broken neck, and 
 to fall was a joke not to be endured twice in a life- 
 time. As we went helter-skelter down "the hog- 
 back." I heard something fall with a dull thud, and 
 looking up, discovered Juanita standing over me with 
 the saddle under her neck, waiting patiently for me to 
 recover my senses. I remounted as soon as possible, 
 and rejoined my friends at Deer Flat, where they 
 were waiting, not knowing what had become of me. 
 Again we are off, and as we strike the bridle-path cut 
 along the face of the precipice, yell after yell, and 
 whoop d la Apache succeeds whoop a la Camanche, 
 while the horses break into a gallop, and we turn in 
 
THE RETURN RIDE. «« rt 
 
 and out the winding - road, and dash down the steep 
 declivity with something of the sensation which the 
 hawk or eaofle must feel as he sets his wines at an 
 angle, and sides down with arrowy swiftness from 
 the realms of ether toward the lower earth. Stones 
 dislodged by our horses' feet go over the precipice, 
 and we hear them bound and crack from rock to rock 
 down to the very bottom of the canon, hundreds of 
 feet below; but the sense of danger seems to give 
 fresh zest to the excitement of man and horse, and 
 the mad gallop is not broken until we reach the 
 wagon-road in the bed of the creek, or the bottom of 
 the great ravine by which we entered the mountain. 
 Then the guide and myself run our horses across an 
 irrigating -dam, strike a hard, smooth mesa, dotted 
 with l!ve oaks like an orchard, and leaving our friends 
 to go round by the road, ride at the full speed of our 
 mustangs down it, only halting when we have reached 
 the stable at Clayton, and dismount to order dinner. 
 
 Dinner over, we re-saddle and hitch up, and are off at 
 two p. m. for San Francisco, by the road we came on the 
 previous day. An occasional race, pistol shooting at 
 quail or hare, a lunch by a mountain spring by the road- 
 side, and occasional halts for "refreshments," only di- 
 versifying the ride homewards, and at six p. m. we are 
 acfain on board the WashoedX Oakland, steaming across 
 the Bay of San Francisco, having ridden fifty miles up 
 and down mountains and across the valleys since sunrise. 
 
 Reader, it would pay you to make the trip, and may 
 you be with us when next we mount our fiery and 
 untamed caballos to ride up and down Mount Diablo. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 EARLY TIMES. 
 
 The Days of '49 and '52. — How they Administered the Law in Tuolumne 
 County, and Justice in Sierra. — Old Put and Judge Ilollowbam. — Pike's 
 " Sasherarer." — Peart Times on Rabbit Creek. — A Game that was Spoiled. — 
 An Appeal that wouldn't hold, and Prediction that wouldn't do to Bet 
 Upon. — Stories of Wagers. — Insulted Dignity Avenged. — Base Ingratitude. 
 — Dead or Alive, Drowned or Not. — A Glass-eye Pet. 
 
 Brave old days were those of '49, How mankind 
 has degenerated since, any old California pioneer will 
 tell you with a sigh. "Things was lively then, you 
 bet, and one man was as good as another!" he says, 
 with a shake of the head which implies volumes. 
 Nevertheless, California was not wholly a Paradise 
 even then, though it pains me to be compelled to 
 say so. The fierce, aggressive energy of the Anglo- 
 American invaders, when it overthrew the social 
 habits, long established customs and local laws of 
 the quiet, unambitious descendants of the old Spanish 
 conquerors, could not establish a new system perfect 
 in all its details in a day, and something of chaos and 
 confusion necessarily followed. Judge Lynch gen- 
 erally did his work quickly and well, though being 
 human, and as such liable at times to err, there was 
 something a little rough in the operation of his de- 
 cisions when a mistake did occur. An old Spaniard, 
 (34o) 
 
JUDGE L YNClf. * a j 
 
 domiciled in a robber-iafested section of the State of 
 Jalisco, Mexico, once told me that he had organized 
 all his neighbor rancheros into an armed corps, who, 
 by waging unceasing war upon the banditti, had al- 
 ready almost cleared the district of the gentlemen of 
 the road within two years. His plan was, whenever 
 a number of them, two or three, were found lounging 
 about the country, "without visible occupation or 
 means of support," to go for them and shoot them 
 on sight. In this way they avoided the delays and 
 uncertainties of the law, and saved a great deal of 
 unnecessary expense and waste of time. But, my 
 friend, is it not possible that you sometimes make a 
 mistake, and shoot a man who is not a highwayman ? 
 "Well, yes; I suppose we do, but the average is on 
 \he rig Jit side, however!" was his emphatic and self- 
 satisfied reply. The advocate of Lynch law generally 
 took the same view of the case in California, and saw 
 the regular courts and written laws take the place of 
 Judge Lynch and summary justice with a sigh. And, 
 in truth, there was some ground for their apprehen- 
 sion that society might not, immediately at least, 
 gain greatly by the change. 
 
 In fact, if the plain truth must be told, Dame Jus- 
 tice in those days, as represented in our courts, was 
 little better than a woman of the town ; and she trav- 
 eled so long in devious and crooked ways that she, 
 became permanently disabled, and never fully recov- 
 ered the free use of all her faculties, having a cast in 
 her unbandaged eyes, and a peculiar shuffling limp in 
 her gait as she walks, even to this hour. 
 
^ 2 EARLY 7YMES. 
 
 The people of San Francisco bore with her trifling 
 and misdoings, until patience ceased to be a virtue, 
 and then, rising in their might, ousted the old lady by- 
 violence, and installed Dame Vigilance for the time 
 being in her place. This made things lively for the 
 crowds of evil-doers who had made the name of San 
 Francisco a by- word and a reproach, and the moral 
 atmosphere was so purified by the storm that, when 
 the old dame came sneaking back and resumed her 
 place in the temple, she could see more clearly. 
 
 Up in the mountains it was hard to get a first-class 
 lawyer to accept a position so low down as even a 
 County Judgeship, and as for the Justices of the 
 Peace — well, some of them were from rather indif- 
 ferent stock, to say the least. "Old Tuolumne" was 
 the great county of the ' : Southern Mines." Placer 
 gold was found on nearly every hillside, and on the 
 banks and in the bed of every stream, while every 
 "bar" on her rivers, the Tuolumne and Stanislaus, 
 was a thriving village or mining camp, where miners' 
 stores and gambling tables abounded. Whisky was 
 as free as water, and a fight and a man for breakfast 
 was a part of the daily programme. Society became 
 organized, and courts were established in Tuolumne 
 county earlier than in most of the counties of the 
 State; and, if the machinery worked a little rough at 
 the start, it is hardly to be wondered at, considering 
 the incongruous materials of which it was composed, 
 and the hurried manner in which it was knocked to- 
 gether. 
 
 Among the first Justices of the Peace appointed 
 
JUDGE 1IOLLOWBARN. ~.~ 
 
 in Tuolumne was Judge Hollowbarn, a shrewd, un- 
 polished, slightly educated, and, as his enemies were 
 wont to say, not over-scrupulous man from the moun- 
 tain districts of Tennessee, "nigh unto the Kain- 
 tucky line." He was a natural genius; and had he 
 come into the world a few years later, and taken to 
 patriotism and politics instead of whisky and the 
 law, would have become a millionaire, and made his 
 mark in the world. He was one of the old school, 
 and believed in State rights and such a construction 
 of the Constitution as would least hamper and en- 
 cumber him in the discharge of the duties of his office 
 as he understood them. His school believed that all 
 powers not expressly delegated by the Constitution 
 to the Federal Government were intended to be re- 
 served to the States as the high contracting parties 
 and first repository of authority. By parity of reas- 
 oning he had arrived at the conclusion that the Jus- 
 tice's Court, being the first on the list and nearest the 
 people, the source of all authority, was entitled to 
 exercise all the powers not specially prohibited by 
 statute. This Q-avc nuTl a wide ran^e in cases both 
 civil and criminal, and he played his hand for all it 
 was worth, and literally went for everything there 
 was in sight. He was also fully satisfied that what 
 he had a right, as a magistrate, to do, he had also in 
 the same capacity the right to undo. Thus, if he 
 could marry a couple — and the statutes clearly gave 
 him that power — it followed that he could divorce 
 them aQfain. It is true that the law conferred the 
 power of granting divorces on the higher court, but 
 
„.. EARLY TIMES. 
 
 there was not a line in the "Statutes and By-laws" 
 of the State of California which said that a Justice of 
 the Peace should not have and exercise the same 
 power; and until the Supreme Court decided against 
 him, he meant to transact all that kind of business 
 which fell in his way — and he did. The eldest Judge 
 of the Supreme Court of the United States, or at 
 least the one longest in office, was by right the Chief 
 Justice of that august tribunal, and he being the first 
 in rank by priority of commission in old Tuolumne, 
 was, as a matter of course, Chief Justice of the Peace 
 of the county, and the other Justices ranked as Asso- 
 ciate Justices of the Peace. Could any proposition be 
 plainer than that to the legal mind ? Certainly not ! 
 So he regarded it, and so he, for a time, at least, half 
 coaxed, half bullied, his colleagues into believing. 
 And this was not all. He was satisfied that a travel- 
 ing pedlar, who took his goods right to everybody's 
 door, could sell double the amount on the same cap- 
 ital that could be worked off by a merchant tied down 
 to his own store, and the same rule would hold good 
 in his own business. People might object or neglect 
 to come all the way from a distant mining camp to 
 Jimtown to patronize his court, but if his court fol- 
 lowed the example vulgarly ascribed to Mohammed, 
 and went to the Mountain, i. c, to them, at stated 
 intervals, the case might be different, and litigation 
 would be made a convenient and easy, not to say 
 popular, amusement for the entire community. Act- 
 ing on this idea, he dubbed his court "The Circuit 
 Justice's Court of Tuolumne County," and, accom- 
 
THE " CIRCUIT JUSTICE'S COURT." 
 
 345 
 
 panied by his constable and clerk, made periodical 
 ti'ips through all the mining camps, going down the 
 Tuolumne river and returning up the Stanislaus, stop- 
 ping at every bar, hearing all cases at shortest notice 
 which came before him, and dealing out justice, plain 
 or fancy, according to the wealth and social position 
 of the litigants, as long as there were any complaints 
 preferred, or there was even a moderately remote 
 chance of his services being called for. Township 
 lines were nothing to him ; no pent-up Utica should 
 contract his powers. Putting up a canvas for an awn- 
 ing, and setting out his table with pens, ink, paper 
 and a few law books, ostentatiously displayed thereon, 
 he would call out in a loud voice, "Oh, yis ! Oh, 
 yis! Oh, y-i-i i s! This yere Honorable Circuit 
 Justice's Court of Tuolumne County is now legally 
 opened for transaction of bizness at Dead Man's 
 Bar!" and then crlancin^ around with an air of defi- 
 ance which implied a readiness to make good his 
 words at any sacrifice, adding, "an' any d — n man 
 that says it ain't can jist settle it with me right yere!" 
 A man of pluck and a ''rightist from the word go," 
 with his reputation in that line already well established, 
 he seldom found anybody to contradict him, and for 
 a long time he had it pretty much all his own way. 
 But, as time wore on, and lawyers grew more numer- 
 ous, trouble began to come upon him, as it is liable to 
 come upon the worst of us. Colonel James, Major 
 Hoyt, Sam Piatt, and other refractory and unmanaga- 
 blc attorneys, badgered and worried the life nearly 
 out of him. They caviled at his assumption of legal 
 
^,5 EARLY TIMES. 
 
 knowledge ; questioned his claims to authority in many 
 cases, and even denied the justice and legality of his 
 decisions. The worst affliction came last on the list. 
 A lawyer, familiarly known as "Old Put," with 
 whom he had been on intimate terms for years, ac- 
 tually had the impudence to take an appeal to the 
 County Court, and had one of his decisions reversed. 
 That was the straw that broke the camel's back. 
 Judge Hollowbarn, when the notice of the reversal 
 of his decision was served upon him, was nearly 
 prostrated by the shock, and for some days he hardly 
 raised his head to respond when invited to drink. 
 But in the end his strong and vigorous nature reas- 
 serted itself, and he rose equal to the emergency. 
 
 A few days after the occurrence of this disaster, 
 Old Put had a case before him, and the Judge went 
 in for even. In the face of the plain letter of the 
 law, the testimony, and his own precedents, he 
 decided squarely against Old Put's client. Then Put 
 boiled over. Seating- himself on the edge of the 
 Judge's table, he shook his fist under the nose of the 
 impersonation of the majesty of the law, and pro- 
 ceeded to relieve himself as follows : 
 
 "And so you derned old skeesicks, you have gone 
 back on me, have you? Cuss you; haven't I winked 
 at your iniquities ; put up with your impudence ; 
 excused your ignorance ; borne with your ill-temper, 
 and furnished you with the best whisky and grub in 
 camp for months and months ? And now, you infer- 
 nal old scoundrel, you propose to throw off on me! 
 I'll have you broke as sure as my name is — " 
 
GREEK MEETS GREEK. 
 
 >47 
 
 "This yere Honorable Circuit Justice's Court for 
 Tuolumne County is adjourned for five minutes, while 
 I lick hell out of Old Put!" roared Judge Hollow- 
 barn, as he sprang to his feet, fairly purple in the face, 
 and gasping for breath in his rage, shucking himself 
 on the instant, and going for Old Put like a double- 
 action earthquake under full headway. 
 
 Old Put, surprised by the suddenness of the dem- 
 onstration, sprang for the door, dextrously throwing 
 a chair and a three-legged stool behind, Parthian-like, 
 as he fled, and "lit out" for home on the double- 
 quick. One of the stools got mixed up with the 
 Judge's legs, and they went down together. Before 
 they could disentangle themselves and the Judge 
 had regained his feet, his friends, who knew well 
 enough that Put had gone after his revolver, got 
 round him and persuaded him to let the matter rest 
 for the moment, having amply vindicated his honor 
 by putting his insulting adversary to ignominious 
 flight. The Judge was fain to follow their advice, but 
 he determined in his heart to have his revenge. 
 
 Next day he was riding across the country when 
 he suddenly come upon Old Put mounted on horse- 
 back like himself, and armed with a double-barreled 
 shotgun as well as a revolver. The Judge took in 
 the situation at a glance ; there was no show for talk- 
 ing fight under the circumstances, but he had his legal 
 remedy for his wrongs, and he determined to avail 
 himself of it. Riding up to him, he demanded to 
 know why he insulted him the day before. 
 
 "Because you deserved it, you infernal old scamp!" 
 
„.3 EARLY TIMES. 
 
 "Well, look here, Put, I'll just convince you that 
 you are damnably fooled if you think you can play 
 me. I jest fine you two hundred and fifty dollars for 
 contempt of court." 
 
 "You fine me for contempt of court? Why you 
 natural born idiot, don't you know that your Court 
 ain't in session, and you can't punish for contempt — 
 either felt or expressed?" 
 
 "I can't, eh? Well, you jest see! I'll show a 
 thing- or two before I'm through with you!" 
 
 And they parted without saying good-bye, each 
 going his way in wrath and bitterness of heart. 
 
 Xext day the "Honorable Circuit Justice's court 
 in and for the County of Tuolumne" was in session, 
 and Old Put appeared for the plaintiff in a case, 
 involving the possessory title to a piece of bottom 
 land, on which an honest, rough and wholly unso- 
 phisticated son of Missouri, known as Pike, had been 
 settled for a year or more cultivating vegetables, or 
 "garden-truck," which he peddled around among the 
 different mining camps. Some outsiders had jumped 
 Pike's claim and held possession by force of arms in 
 clear violation of right and law, and Pike had brought 
 suit to eject them. When Put arose to open the case, 
 he was promptly shut off by Judge Hollowbarn, who 
 informed him that he was fined $250 for contempt of 
 Court committed two days previously, and he could 
 not say a word in that tribunal until the fine was paid. 
 Old Put was in a towering rage, and he cursed and 
 expostulated until he was black in the face, but jus- 
 tice personified by the Judge sat stern and impertur- 
 
A NEW CODE. <>*(, 
 
 bable. Let the heathen rage ; was he not strong in 
 his position, and could he not smile at all attempts to 
 brow-beat or convince him? Of course he was, and 
 he did. Old Put, seeing that it was useless to at- 
 tempt to argue the matter and determined not to be 
 robbed, refused to come down with the money, and 
 drew out of the case, advising Pike to substitute 
 Major Hoyt as his counsel, and go on with the trial. 
 Pike took his advice, went on with the case, proved as 
 clear as the sunlight at mid-day that he was in the 
 right, and then listened in blank astonishment to a 
 decision in favor of his opponents from the Judge. 
 Thereupon Pike and his counsel withdrew and talked 
 the matter over outside. The decision was clearly 
 an outrage, and in utter defiance of justice and the 
 law; but what could they do? The Major advised 
 an appeal and, Pike consenving, he returned and 
 made in open court his notice to that effect. 
 
 "Not if this honorable court knows herself ! That 
 thing is played out. We don't allow any more ap- 
 peals from this tribunal. That's our new rule, and 
 we're goin' to stand by it every time after this," was 
 the prompt and decided answer of the "Chief Jus- 
 tice." The astonished counsel attempted to argue 
 the illegality of such a rule, but desisted on the threat 
 of a fine for contempt of court, and, considerably 
 crestfallen, withdrew again to consult with his client. 
 Pike wanted to know if that was the end of the mat- 
 ter, and he must quietly submit to be ruined in that 
 infamous way. The Major told him that there was 
 but one way now left him to obtain a remedy, and as 
 
„- n EARLY TIMES. 
 
 lie knew that he, Pike, was a poor man, he feared 
 that i.t would be too expensive for him. Pike said, 
 "damn the expense," he wanted justice, and he would 
 have it or die. "Well," said his counsel, "if you can 
 give the requisite security and get a writ of certiorari 
 from the County Court at Sonora, you can have the 
 case carried up there and tried before a jury in spite 
 of the old scoundrel." 
 
 "How much security, Major?" 
 
 "Well, double the value of the ground; say $800 
 in a bond, with two good sureties, or the amount in 
 dust." 
 
 "And the other thing; what d'ye call it, Major?" 
 
 "Why, a certiorari!" 
 
 "A which?" 
 
 "A certiorari /" 
 
 Pike repeated the last phrase over several times, 
 and in deep thought made his way to the nearest sa- 
 loon and called for "whisky straight," of which he 
 swallowed about half a pint, and then sat down to 
 think it over. As the liquor, little by little, took ef- 
 fect on his brain, he saw his way clearer and clearer 
 out of the legal muddle, and at last rising equal to 
 the occasion, he started a little unsteadily to his feet, 
 and made his way as straight as he was able to the 
 court room. Entering the hall of justice with the 
 light of coming triumph in his eyes, and calm deter- 
 mination depicted on his severely classic countenance, 
 he advanced boldly to the Judge's table, and striking 
 an imposing attitude, opened the campaign as follows: 
 
 "Well, Judge, I've talked this yere matter over 
 
PIK&S PERSUADER. ,rj 
 
 with my li-yer, an' he 'vises me that if I can give the 
 security an' perduce a sasherarer, I kin hev this yere 
 case carried up ter Sonora in spite of yer!" 
 
 "Yes, Pike, if you think it will pay, and you ain't 
 satisfied with my decision, I s'pose you can do it, but 
 all I can say is, I've decided 'cordin' to law, and tried 
 to do you justice, and you'll find that out when you 
 have spent what money you have got in lawin' it, 
 and feeing these infernal thievin' lawyers." 
 
 •'Never yer mind what I'll spend, nor what you've 
 tried ter do fur me, Judge ; what I want ter know is, 
 will the security on a sasherarer do it?" 
 
 ''Of course it'll do it; but, as I was sayin' — " 
 
 "That'll do, Judge! Yer infernal old skunk, I've 
 just got yer this time whar the liar's short, you bet!" 
 Here he drew a large buckskin bag of gold-dust from 
 his pocket, and slapped it on the table with one hand, 
 while with the other he dexterously pulled from its 
 scabbard from behind him his huge army-sized Colt's 
 revolver, swung it over his head, cocking it as he did 
 so, and bringing it down with a heavy thud on the 
 table, with the muzzle pointing directly in the line of 
 the Judge's diaphragm. "Thar's my security, an' 
 dern yer connubiating old gizzard, whar's my sash- 
 erarer?" 
 
 The Judge was no coward, but he took one good 
 look at the revolver pointing directly at his vitals, 
 with its six chambers filled to the end with powder 
 and lead, raised his eyes to Pike's face, and saw dead- 
 ly determination in every curve and line and wrinkle, 
 and — he weakened. 
 
-, - o EARL V TIMES. 
 
 35- 
 
 "'Tain't no use of our quarreling, Pike; you can 
 take an appeal this time!" 
 
 "Oh, I kin, kin I? Well, fer fear of anythin' hap- 
 penin' ter make yer disremember it, ycr kin jist pass 
 them ar papers rite over heyer this minnit, an' the 
 thing- '11 be settled!" 
 
 And Pike, as good as his word, stood there cover- 
 ing the Judge with his "sasherarer" at full cock, until 
 the clerk made out the document without any unnec- 
 essary verbiage, you may be sure ; and they were 
 duly signed by his Honor with slightly unsteady 
 hand, and passed over to him. The precedent estab- 
 lished in this case was ruinous to Judge Hollowbarn. 
 He never fully recovered from the shock ; and other 
 summary proceedings following thick and fast upon 
 if, he soon after threw up the judicial sponge, retired 
 from the field, and drifted away from the sight — al- 
 most from the memory as well — of the dwellers in 
 Old Tuolumne, going, none knew or cared where, to 
 seek the obscurity he was so well fitted to adorn. 
 
 Sometimes the sentiment of the community was 
 divided between a preference for summary justice as 
 administered by Judge Lynch, and respect for the 
 majesty of the law, as embodied in the legally con- 
 stituted courts. In such cases a compromise was 
 usually agreed upon, a trial taking place with all the 
 forms of the written law, but under the direction of 
 Judge Lynch. When our friend from Old Tuolumne 
 had finished his story of the Honorable Circuit Jus- 
 tice's Court, Col. Charles W. Crocker, now of the 
 
Hi^lB 
 
 iPf? - 
 
PEART TIMES ON RABBIT CREEK. -r- 
 
 Oregon Bulletin, who has knocked around the Pacific 
 Coast in all its highways and byways for many a 
 year, and studied the character and peculiarities of its 
 people as closely as any man living, chipped in and 
 gave us, in his own peculiar and characteristic style, 
 a story of the doings of himself and companions in 
 the summary justice line, in the days when they had 
 "peart times on Rabbit Creek: 
 
 The bustle among the inhabitants of La Porte, the 
 principal mining camp on Rabbit Creek, as observed 
 through the silvery gray atmosphere which encircled 
 the town on the morning of the 19th of March, 1852, 
 indicated that something unusual was on the tapis. 
 Red-shirted men, whose faces were covered with 
 shaggy beards, whose hair fell in tangled disorder 
 over their shoulders, and who wore their pantaloons 
 stuffed into the top of their boots; who carried re- 
 volvers and huge bowie knives in their belts, and 
 constantly puffed volumes of smoke from their lips, 
 were to be seen going from one saloon to another, or 
 stopping for a moment on the only street of which 
 the town could boast, for the purpose of shaking 
 hands with some old acquaintance or exchanging a 
 few words. The very atmosphere seemed to impress 
 even the most casual observer that something more 
 than the usual dull routine of a mining camp life was 
 about to transpire. 
 
 Four long weary months had dragged themselves 
 
 by since the snow came down upon Rabbit Creek 
 
 Canon, and put an end to all out-door operations of 
 
 the miners. For four months the little town had been 
 23 
 
^r* EARLY TIMES. 
 
 cut off from all communication with its neighbors. 
 The earth was buried deep beneath the white shroud 
 which had so silently fallen upon it. The creek was 
 bound in fetters of ice, and the piercing blast from the 
 trumpet of rude Boreas, who sat amongst the crags 
 high up the Sierras, had come down through the 
 canons and gulches with a keenness that made them 
 cut like a razor, and kept everybody within doors. 
 Four months had elapsed since a mail had been re- 
 ceived, and during all of that time the inhabitants of 
 the camp had eaten their food, made snow-shoes, and 
 waited patiently for news from the outer world. 
 
 A slight thaw, followed by a severe "cold snap," 
 occurring a few days before the opening of my sketch, 
 had formed a thick crust upon the snow. This crust 
 being sufficiently strong to support the heaviest man, 
 its advent was hailed with universal delight, because 
 it enabled the miners to get abroad. The reader may 
 rest assured that after having been held in snowy fet- 
 ters so long, the residents were only too glad to visit, 
 the town, where they could spend a few hours in the 
 drinking-saloons and stores in talking over the pros- 
 pects of the coming season, or visit the gambling- 
 house and indulge their passion for gaming — a pas- 
 sion that existed in the breast of nearly every miner 
 in California during the live years following the ad- 
 vent of the mining population. 
 
 The gamblers, those who dealt faro, monte, and 
 other games of chance, and who followed no other 
 occupation, were delighted with the change. For 
 weeks it had been "dog eat dog" with them, and 
 
LA PORTE. „-- 
 
 now the prospect of having a few outsiders to fleece 
 was a source of oreat Gratification. In order to cele- 
 brate the event they had clubbed together, raised a 
 purse of a thousand dollars, and offered it as a prize 
 to the person who could make the quickest time on 
 snow-shoes over a track to be designated by a com- 
 mittee. The contest was to be free to all who chose 
 to engage in it ; and it was to witness this race that 
 so many of the hardy sons of toil came into La Porte, 
 and their arrival in the village had caused the bustle 
 alluded to in the opening paragraph. 
 
 La Porte, at the time of which we write, consisted 
 of half a dozen saloons, where liquor was sold and 
 games of chance played, two or three stores where 
 groceries, mining tools, etc., were kept on hand, a 
 couple of blacksmith shops, a shoe shop, and a hotel. 
 It was as flourishing a camp as could be .found in the 
 mines ; and the miners on Rabbit Creek were as in- 
 dustrious and thrifty as any in California. 
 
 The miners as they came into the town on the 
 morning referred to, would drop into a saloon, ex- 
 change a few words with the inmates, take a drink or 
 two, and then go to another saloon, where the pro- 
 ceedings would be repeated. Upon the countenance 
 of every one could be observed a look which indicat- 
 ed relief from confinement, a determination to enjoy 
 the day, and a sort of I-don't-care-for-anything ap- 
 pearance generally. 
 
 The attention of a group of persons standing in 
 front of the hotel was attracted to a man who was 
 descending the hill, at the foot of which the town was 
 
--£ EARLY TIMES. 
 
 built He was a tall, raw-boned man of about thirty 
 years of age ; although his stooping shoulders and 
 swinging gait gave him the appearance of being much 
 smaller than he really was. 
 
 There was something in the movement of the man 
 to attract attention, and as he drew nearer and a bet- 
 ter view of his features were obtained, the broad, 
 high forehead and piercing nut-brown eyes indica ed 
 that he was a man equal to any emergency, and one 
 who could upon occasion wield a powerful force for 
 good or evil amongst his acquaintances. 
 
 Gabe Husker, for such was the name of the person 
 who had become the centre of attraction, was the 
 owner of a valuable mine a couple of miles above the 
 town. It was generally thought he had a large 
 amount of gold dust hidden away ; and this belief be- 
 ing shared by the gamblers, they had made number- 
 less efforts to induce him to play, but so far without 
 success. In fact Gabe had no love for gaming, nor 
 liking for those who managed games of chance. He 
 regarded all gamblers as thieves, and was no way 
 bashful in speaking his sentiments. The gamesters, 
 however, refused to be insulted by him, because they 
 hoped ultimately to be able to succeed in their de- 
 signs, when they would be avenged for all the insults 
 he had ever given them. 
 
 "Times are right peart on Rabbit Creek, ain't 
 they?" asked Gabe, as he entered one of the saloons, 
 where a number of persons were standing in front of 
 a long counter, waiting for drinks that were being 
 prepared by the bar- keeper. 
 
GABE HUSKER, „ c - 
 
 00/ 
 
 "Hello, Gabe, is that you? I'm dern glad to see 
 you!" "How's things out in the hill?" "Many of 
 the boys comin' down to-day?" "By jingo, yon 
 look sorter blue round the gills ; come up and name 
 yer ruin," exclaimed a dozen voices, and as many 
 hands were extended to welcome the new arrival. 
 
 Amongst those welcoming Gabe was Hank Sey- 
 mour, the owner of one of the most valuable claims 
 on the creek — a good natured fellow, whose worst 
 enemy was his appetite ; who never visited the town 
 without getting drunk, and, when in that condition, 
 and unfit for any business, visiting the gambling- 
 houses and losing heavily. He had been one of the 
 first to arrive on the morning alluded to, and had im- 
 mediately commenced drinking. 
 
 "Thank yer; 'blieve I will wet my sofergrass with 
 a mite of Kaintuck wine. It's powerful good for a 
 steady drink ; a miserable sight better nor champagne 
 and absence ; sticks closer to yer ribs, and don't leave 
 no headache behind. Then, again, it's a home pro- 
 duction, and I allers allow that a man as don't pat- 
 ternize home products ain't worth shucks. So, bar- 
 keep, yer may jiss pass over yer corn-juice!" 
 
 "Will you take bitters or sugar, sir?" 
 
 "Sugar or bitters in liquor? Not by a derned 
 sight! When I drink liquor I drink it for itself, and 
 not for bitters or other adjunctifications. I sorter im- 
 agine that yer don't reckon I'm from Pike county, 
 Missouri, or you wouldn't ask me if I drank sugar 
 or bitters in my liquor ! No sir-ee, Bob ! I allers 
 drinks my liquor straight!'' 
 
- -Q EARLY TIMES. 
 
 JO 
 
 A bottle was placed before him. Pouring a glass 
 nearly full, Gabe raised it in his hand, held it between 
 the light and his eye, and after gazing at it affection- 
 ately for a few moments, said : 
 
 "Here's to we uns ; may we all have heaps of luck 
 and water when the winter breaks." 
 
 "We'll all drink to that!" exclaimed the miners as 
 they raised the glasses to their lips and poured the 
 liquid fire down their throats. 
 
 "As I remarked, when I first came in, times are 
 right peart on Rabbit Creek, ain't they?' 
 
 "Yes, sorter, kind o' peart," responded one of the 
 group. "The fact is, times has been infernally dull 
 for a long while, and 'twas necessary for to do some- 
 thing to bust the shell. Things having got a boost, 
 there is a right smart chance of peartness goin' on." 
 
 The speaker was the proprietor of a faro game, 
 who, being anxious to cultivate Mr. Husker's ac- 
 quaintance, sought to improve the occasion. He was 
 a large-framed, bull-necked, dark-eyed, scowling- 
 countenanced fellow, known by the name of Chad- 
 wick, who, rumor declared, had, since his advent into 
 California, killed one or two men and robbed a great 
 many others, but during his residence on Rabbit 
 Creek he had conducted himself in a manner to give 
 no offense. His features were marked with several 
 deep scars, which gave evidence of his having par- 
 ticipated in many a desperate combat, while the 
 bowie-knife and revolver in his belt indicated that he 
 was prepared for war at any moment. 
 
 By eleven o'clock between three and four hundred 
 
THE SNOW-SHOE RACE. -rg 
 
 miners had assembled in the town, and all were more 
 or less under the influence of liquor. The gamblers, 
 after treating all hands until they began to show 
 symptoms of inebriation, opened their little games 
 and commenced winning the money of those who 
 were foolish enough to play. Around each table 
 could be seen a crowd of hardy fellows betting their 
 hard-earned dust, and indulging in rude jests and bois- 
 terous laughter. The harsh oaths that would occa- 
 sionally escape from the lips of some of the players, 
 gave evidence that luck could not prevail against sci- 
 entific attainments in the art of cheating, and that the 
 gamblers were making hay while the sun shone. 
 
 After the noon-day meal had been disposed of, the 
 committee of arrangements set to work to arrange 
 the preliminaries for the snow-shoe race. Judges, 
 time-keepers, referees, starters, etc., were appointed, 
 rules established, and everything fixed in consonance 
 with the ideas of the majority of the committee. 
 Then those who were to take part in the contest 
 were notified to appear at the starting-post. The 
 judges took their positions ; those who had been ab- 
 sorbed in gambling forsook the tables, and sought 
 places from whence a good view of the race could 
 be had. 
 
 When the hour for starting arrived the signal was 
 given, and the contestants bounded off with the speed 
 of lightning. At the last moment a woman appeared 
 upon the scene and started with the others. She was 
 evidently an expert in the use of the snow-shoes, and 
 passed several of the contestants during the first hun- 
 
^5q EARLY TIMES. 
 
 dred yards. Those who were watch ng the race be- 
 came fearfully excited, and whenever the woman 
 would succeed in passing- one of the racers, they 
 would make the welkin ring with their shouts of joy 
 and encouragement. 
 
 "Who is she?" was asked on all sides, but no one 
 answered the question. 
 
 It is not my intention to give a description of the 
 snow-shoe race, nor to paint a picture of the exciting 
 contest. I only allude to it for the purpose of giving 
 the reader a clue to what is yet to come. The race 
 was soon over, and was won by the mysterious fe- 
 male, who had been materially aided by the wind 
 catching in the skirts of her dress. 
 
 Perhaps her success may partially have been caused 
 by the gallantry of the other contestants, who thought 
 it would be ungentlemanly to beat a woman. But of 
 this we cannot speak knowingly. 
 
 There were but two or three females on Rabbit 
 Creek at the time of which we write, and consequent- 
 ly great curiosity prevailed to learn which one had 
 entered the lists and carried off the prize, and no 
 sooner had the contestants crossed the home mark 
 than the crowd rushed forward and surrounded them. 
 
 "Who is she?" cried a dozen voices, the owners of 
 which were pushing with might and main to get a 
 glimpse of the lady's features. 
 
 The victor threw back the bonnet and veil that 
 covered and concealed her features, and revealed the 
 face of a man, bearded like a pard. 
 
 "Oh, pshaw! 'taint no woman, after all ! " exclaimed 
 
MURDER. 
 
 361 
 
 Hank Seymour, as lie elbowed his way from the cen- 
 ter of the circle. 
 
 "Then who in thunder is it?" asked one who was 
 using his best efforts to get a sight of the champion. 
 
 "Well I'm danged ef thatar woman don't turn out 
 to be Jim Wilkinham, who lives over on t'other side 
 of the hill," said Gabe Husker, whose curiosity ap- 
 peared to have been satisfied. "Jim has been playing 
 roots on the boys, and is a thousand dollars better 
 off fur havin' done so. But dog me ef I don't think 
 the race ought to be run over agin. I wouldn't stand 
 being cheated that way ef I was one of 'em." 
 
 At this moment fierce, angry words were heard 
 within the circle. Several persons appeared to be 
 taking part in the dispute, and again the crowd pressed 
 forward to see what was the matter. Suddenly the 
 sharp report of a pistol rang out, and the crowd 
 which had formed the circle fled pell-mell. Turning 
 quickly, Husker saw that a murder had been com- 
 mitted. The winner of the purse was lying motion- 
 less upon the snow, while the blood, pouring in a 
 stream from a wound in his bosom, was rapidly 
 crimsoning the ground. The bullet had passed 
 through his heart, and death had been instantaneous. 
 A few feet distant stood Chadwick, coolly returning 
 his revolver to its resting-place in the scabbard which 
 hung over his hip. 
 
 "What in hell have yer been a doing?" yelled 
 Husker as he jumped toward the murderer. 
 
 "Bin a givin' a dern skunk his deserts. No dano- 
 dead-beat can ever git any of my money by such a 
 
^ EARLY TIMES. 
 
 fraud upon the community as this one. I go fur all 
 sich, every time, you bet!" 
 
 "I guess we'll have to go fur you," said Husker, as 
 he laid his hand upon the shoulder of the murderer. 
 
 "Don't you lay yer hands on me, or by the holy 
 St. Paul I'll put daylight through you," yelled the 
 gambler as he leaped back and made a motion as if 
 to draw a weapon. 
 
 "That's played out, and it won't be remarkably 
 healthy fur you to attempt to draw yer weapons on 
 old Gabe. He has fit too many grizzlies to be afeard 
 of such a catamount as you. Ef you surrender yer- 
 self into custody, I'll see that you have a fair, square 
 trial, but ef you make a dern fool of yerself, you'll 
 go up the flume without judge or jury." 
 
 "I don't propose to have you interfere in my af- 
 fairs, and I guess I'll prepare you for a funeral," cried 
 the gambler, as he d:ew his pistol and pointed it at 
 Gabe. 
 
 Before the desperado had time to pull the trigger, 
 his arms were beaten down and he was seized from 
 behind by some of the miners, who soon overpow- 
 ered and securely bound him, hand and foot, and car- 
 ried him into the tavern, around the door of which a 
 number of excited persons instantly collected. Some 
 proposed to satisfy the ends of justice by hanging the 
 prisoner at once, but Gabe, who appeared to have 
 been intuitively accepted as a leader, declared that 
 the fair name of the Rabbit Creekers should not be 
 tarnished by acts of lawlessness. 
 
 The prisoner, notwithstanding that he was bound 
 
NOT BORN TO BE HANGED. -^ 
 
 3° 3 
 
 hand and foot, and entirely at the mercy of his cap- 
 tors, was as cool and collected as if he was seated 
 behind his gambling-table, shuffling cards for a lot of 
 greenhorns. Me would sneeringly address those 
 who were crying - out for his life, and say: 
 
 " You dern fools are a-wastin' of yer breaths. Yer 
 can't hang me. 'Tain't in the cards. I wasn't born 
 to be hung. So 'tain't no use making a fuss about 
 sich a little matter, and you'd be making money ef 
 you'd stop botherin' me." 
 
 "What makes you think there is no danger of our 
 hanging you?" asked one of those who had been 
 stationed as guard over the prisoner. 
 
 "'Cause when I was born'd, the stars showed that 
 I was to be drownded." 
 
 "May be the stars will fail." 
 
 "They can't. They have shone in the heavens 
 ever since the creation, and will remain thar until 
 the end of time; so 'tis impossible for 'em to fail." 
 
 "We'll see about it after a while." 
 
 The question of how the prisoner should be tried 
 was a difficult one to settle. There was no regularly 
 instituted court nearer than Marysville, and to send 
 him there and await the law's delays would cost too 
 much money, occupy too much time, and be certain 
 to result in the prisoner's escaping merited punish- 
 ment. After the subject had been thoroughly can- 
 vassed in all its bearings, it was decided to organize a 
 court, and have the trial take place immediately. 
 Gabe Husker was chosen judge, another miner sher- 
 iff; a jury was then selected to try the prisoner, and 
 
-(54 EARLY TIMES. 
 
 sworn by the judge to perform their duties to the 
 best of their ability. A person who had witness- 
 ed the shooting volunteered to act as prosecuting 
 attorney, and a gambler who had been a friend of 
 the prisoner was sent for to appear and conduct the 
 defense. 
 
 In response to the summons, the latter entered the 
 room where the court was being held, and seated 
 himself beside the prisoner. His eyes no sooner 
 rested on the faces of those chosen as jurors than he 
 felt that the fate of his client was decided, and, though 
 he labored ever so hard, he would be unable to ac- 
 complish anything. 
 
 The preliminaries having been arranged, Judge 
 Husker took a seat upon the table, and directed the 
 sheriff to declare the court open for business. 
 
 "Oh, yes! Oh, yes! All ye are hereby notified 
 that this court is now open for the trial of David 
 Chadwick for the high crime of murder. All assem- 
 bled will take notice, and govern themselves accord- 
 ingly," cried the sheriff. 
 
 A few moments' confusion followed this announce- 
 ment, during which the crowd endeavored to secure 
 seats or favorable positions from which to observe the 
 proceedings. Silence having been secured, the judge 
 said : 
 
 "This 'ere honorable court is now open for the 
 trial of a person accused of the murder of a human 
 being. I find myself in a peculiar situation, and 
 must own that I have some misgivings of my ability 
 to discharge the duties of that position. But I'll try 
 
A QUESTION OF LA IV. , QI - 
 
 my level best to be equal to the occasion. We are 
 away up here in the mountains whar we hain't got no 
 Californy law, therefore I propose to put it to a vote 
 whether we shall try the prisoner by Lynch law or 
 Missouri law. I hold in my hand a copy of the 
 Constitution and By-Laws of the State of Missouri, 
 which are good enough law for me, and ought to be 
 good enough for any one. It will look better abroad 
 ef we try the prisoner by real law than by Lynch 
 law, consequently I'm in favor of usin' Missouri law 
 on this trial ; but having been elected judge by you, 
 I shall be governed entirely by your decision. 
 
 "Your head is level, you bet, Judge," cried one of 
 the spectators. 
 
 "Now all that is in favor of trying the prisoner by 
 Missouri law say yes," continued his Monor. 
 
 A tremendous "yes" went up from the throats of 
 the assembled multitude, the prisoner voting in the 
 affirmative, and saying : 
 
 "I like Missouri law better than Lynch law, 
 'cause you see real law has a restrainin' influence onto 
 the jurors." 
 
 "You have decided that this trial shall be governed 
 by real law," continued the Court. "I think it would 
 be doin' the neat thing ef some one would heft up a 
 prayer as a sort o' starter. Ef any of you have had 
 experience in wrestling with the Lord, I hope you 
 won't be backward about volunteerin.' Tom Ray- 
 burn, yer father was an old prayer fighter ; can't you 
 give us a heft?" 
 
 "No, thank you, Judge; the old man consumed all 
 
-2 56 EARLY TIMES. 
 
 the prayer there was in our family, and didn't leave 
 any for his boys." 
 
 "Bill Gillam, you used to 'tend meetin' afore you 
 corne to Californy ; what do you say?" 
 
 "Raly, Gabe, yer Honor, ef yer please, I don't 
 feel ekal to the task." 
 
 After calling upon several others with like results, 
 Gabe knelt down and offered up a fervent but homely 
 petition to the Throne of Grace for guidance during 
 the trial. He prayed that the hearts of the jurors 
 might be softened towards the accused, so that they 
 might judge the prisoner at the bar justly, and deal 
 with him rightly. He pleaded for courage to perform 
 the disagreeable duty that had been imposed on him, 
 and closed with an appeal for mercy for him whose 
 hands were yet warm with the blood of a fellow-be- 
 ing. 
 
 "I say, Judge, let's have something to drink afore 
 we go any further with this ere show," said the pris- 
 oner ; ''that dern long prayer of yourn has made me 
 feel as dry as a tinder-box." 
 
 "Well, I don't keer cf I do take a little tarantaler 
 juice to make things run smooth," replied the Court. 
 
 The sheriff, without waiting for orders, hastened to 
 fetch the liquors and some glasses from the bar. His 
 Honor and the prisoner took a drink together, the 
 latter saying: 
 
 "I drink to the success of yer show ; now go ahead 
 and get through with this dern nonsense. I want to 
 get back to my game." 
 
 The sheriff was going to remove the bottle, when 
 
THE VERDICT. nfry 
 
 his Honor stopped him, saying, "This ere will proba- 
 bly be trying work, and I guess you had better leave 
 the liquor, I may want some more of it." 
 
 The trial was then commenced, and conducted with 
 perfect fairness. A number of witnesses testified to 
 the shooting ; in fact, the prisoner himself declared to 
 the jury that he had killed the miner, and gave as a 
 reason for having clone so, that he had fooled everv- 
 body by putting on woman's clothing, exciting their 
 curiosity, and swindling those engaged in the race. 
 For his part, he thought "any dern skunk as would 
 humbug a whole mining camp deserved to have a 
 bullet-hole bored through his diaphragm." 
 
 After the testimony had been taken, the case was 
 summed up in short speeches by the counsel and sub- 
 mitted to the jury. A whispered conversation for a 
 few moments followed, and then the verdict was an- 
 nounced. The prisoner had been found guilty oi 
 murder in the first degree, and sentenced to be handed 
 by the neck until he was dead. 
 
 "I'll bet any man in the room five to one that 1 
 am not hanged until I am dead," coolly remarked the 
 prisoner, when the verdict was rendered. 
 
 "I'll take you for a half-dozen ounces," replied the 
 foreman of the jury, who was none other than our 
 old friend, Hank Seymour, "fur it's the only time I 
 ever had a dead thing on you. And now, my dying 
 friend, let me give you a little advice. Select the 
 spot you want to buried in, and engage your under- 
 taker." 
 
 "Thank you for your advice, but I guess it hain't 
 
^g EARLY TIMES. 
 
 any use to take it, for I tell you that I'll be riding 
 over these mountains when your bones are bleaching 
 in the wind." 
 
 " Ef you do ride over these hills after to-day, it will 
 be as a first-class ghost, for you will be a dead man 
 in an hour from now." 
 
 At this moment Gabe Husker approached^ the pris- 
 oner and said: "I hope you'll 'scuze me for the part 
 I've taken in this matter, and b'lieve that I've only 
 done my dooty to my feller-citizens. You have had 
 a fair trial, 'cording to the by-laws of Missouri, and I 
 hope the decision is agreeable to you." 
 
 "I hain't got nothing to say agin it; it's all been 
 conducted on the square ; nary Jack was turned from 
 the bottom. I am satisfied with everything so far. 
 But you'll be doing me a favor if you'll hurry up mat- 
 ters a little and get through with it. I am anxious to 
 get back to my game. I'm losin' a heap of money 
 through the dern foolishness of you fellers." 
 
 "You had better be puttin' your cards in order for 
 a game in the other world, 'cause you'll soon be a 
 lay-out for the devil," remarked a bystander. 
 
 "May be you have something to bet that my lamp 
 goes out to-day?" 
 
 "Yes, I have." 
 
 "Look here, Dave, you are making a dern fool of 
 yourself," exclaimed the gambler, who had acted as 
 the prisoner's counsel. "You are a bettin' agin yer- 
 self. The fust thing you know you'll have so many 
 bets out that these fellers will lift you outen the world 
 fur to win their bets. My advice to you is to prepare 
 
sA /J 21/1 TO A HIGHER COURT. -,£g 
 
 ro shuffle. 'Tain't no use lookin' at fate with your 
 eyes shut. These fellers mean business, and hav got 
 it in fur you."' 
 
 "You arc mistaken in vour knowledge of the eame 
 of human natur. Thar ain't goin^ to be no hangin' 
 so far as I'm consarned. Dog on it, hain't I told yer 
 that a fortune-teller read it in the stars that I was 
 born'd to be drownded; and, if I am to be drownded, 
 I can't be hanged!" 
 
 "I'm afeard the fortune-teller had lost the run of the 
 cards when he told you that. Thar ain't no chance 
 for yer neck now." 
 
 The sheriff, accompanied by several men who had 
 been erecting a gallows under a tree, which grew near 
 by, now entered and took charge of the prisoner, 
 whom they conducted to the scene where the last act 
 of the drama was to be played. The preliminaries 
 were quickly made, the rope placed around the neck 
 of the doomed man, and when everything was in 
 readiness, the prisoner was asked if he had anything 
 to say before he was launched into eternity. 
 
 "This 'ere joke has gone fur enough, and as my 
 feet are gettin' cold, I wish you would wind it up. 
 I'm tired of bein' fooled with/' 
 
 The sheriff now addressed the prisoner, saying: 
 "You have been tried according to the- laws of the 
 State of Missouri ; you have been found guilty, and 
 the time for the execution of the sentence of the 
 Court has arrived. I, therefore, must proceed to per- 
 form my dooty." 
 
 "I say, hold on. I appeal this 'ere case to the Su- 
 
 24 
 
■jo 
 
 EARLY TIMES. 
 
 preme Court of Missouri," said the prisoner, "and 
 you can't carry out the sentence until after the appeal 
 lias been decided." 
 
 This change in the aspect of affairs somewhat stag- 
 gered the crowd, and delayed the execution a short 
 while. Judge Husker was called upon to give his 
 views upon the case, and did so, as follows: 
 
 "The prisoner was tried by' Missouri law, found 
 guilty, and sentenced to death by the law ; and thar 
 cannot be a doubt about his right to appeal to the 
 Supreme Court of Missouri. So fur so good. But 
 courts are always in the habit of goin' on until the 
 Supreme Court issues its mandamus stayin' perceed- 
 in's. Therefore the sentence of this court will be 
 carried out, unless properly stayed by a mandamus. 
 Ef the perceedin's ain't reg'lar, they can be reviewed 
 when the case reaches the higher court." 
 
 The decision of his Honor was received with a 
 shout, the prisoner said, "all right, go ahead." The 
 sheriff gave the signal and the trap was sprung. 
 The rope broke, letting the murderer drop in the snow- 
 beneath the scaffold. He struggled to his feet, re- 
 turned to the scaffold, and looking over the crowds 
 said: 
 
 "Thar, didn't I tell yer that I couldn't be hung? 
 I claim my bets. Now, gentlemen, as this show is 
 over, I thank you for your kind attendance, and all 
 oi you as has got any money and wants a lay-out at 
 faro, just foller me and I'll give you a lively game." 
 
 He turned to leave the scaffold, when he was met 
 by the sheriff, who held in his hand a much stronger 
 
THE LAST ACT. „ 7 T 
 
 rope than the one first used. This was soon knotted 
 about the neck of the victim, who looked at the rope 
 and then at the faces surrounding him, but failed to 
 see any sympathy for him. 
 
 "See here, gentlemen," said he, "this 'ere thing 
 has become serious, and before you make another 
 pull, give me time to change my bets. I'll copper 
 the fortune-teller this time, and play him to lose, 
 'cause I b'leeve you fellers can call the turn." 
 
 He stopped speaking, waived his hand to the Sher- 
 iff as a signal to proceed, and in a moment more the 
 unfortunate man was standing in the presence of Him 
 who judgeth all things. 
 
 "Times arc right peart on Rabbit Creek," said 
 Hank Seymour to Gabe Husker, as they turned to 
 leave the scene of execution. 
 
 "Yes, right peart," was the reply. 
 
 At this point the doctor, who had apparently been 
 asleep for the last hour, rolled over in his blankets 
 and, with a yawn, inquired: 
 
 "And how long did you remain on Rabbit Creek 
 after all that took place, Don Carlos?" 
 
 "Oh, not long; I left the next day, I believe." 
 
 "Well, that is just what I'd have advised you to 
 do if I'd been there." 
 
 "So would anybody else if they knew you were 
 practicing your profession there, and I ran any risk 
 of requiring medical advice. It is a pity that many 
 of your patients don't have somebody to give them 
 the same advice in season to be of use to them!" 
 
„- 2 EARLY TIMES. 
 
 Charley evidently took the doctor's attempted 
 pleasantry a little ungraciously, and the subject was 
 dropped. 
 
 This reprehensible propensity for betting on every 
 possible subject is a peculiarity of California, and 
 crops out distinctly on all occasions. Your genuine 
 Californian, whether of Spanish origin and to the 
 manner born, or Yankee by habit and only a son of 
 the Golden State by adoption, has two peculiarities 
 which strike a stranger most forcibly, next to his par- 
 donable admiration for everything Californian, and, as 
 a matter of course, contempt for anything which is 
 not. He is perfectly cosmopolitan in his sympathy 
 for misfortune, want, or suffering, and ready to give 
 on the instant with reckless liberality, to any person 
 or cause appealing to him for assistance, and is ever 
 ready to bet his last dollar, the shirt off his back, or 
 the boots off his feet, for or against any proposition 
 on any subject which any person may advance in his 
 hearing. Say to him, "Mrs. Smith, who has seven 
 fatherless children, lost her house by fire last night," 
 and he answers, "That is all I want to hear, bet your 
 life, old boy ! Here is all the loose change I have 
 got about me ; but if you cannot make up enough, 
 come again and I'll give you a check!" Does he 
 ride in a stage-coach over the Sierra Nevada, and in 
 turning a short curve it misses stays and goes over 
 the precipice — a by no means uncommon occurrence 
 — he improves the opportunity as the vehicle goes 
 crashing over the rocks, to shout in his neighbor's 
 ear, "I go you the drinks for all hands, that over half 
 
the betting mania. ,.~„ 
 
 of us ain't killed!" This betting is confined to no 
 class or race ; it pervades society from its out-crop- 
 pings on the surface down to the bed-rock. It ap- 
 pears to be inherent in the air. Juan, the native Cali- 
 fornian or Mexican, bets his week's earnings in the 
 mine on the color of the seeds of a watermelon which 
 he bought for a dime, on the result of a break-neck 
 race between two wild mustangs, ridden by two wild- 
 er vaguer os y on the issue of a cock-fight, or the turn 
 of a card, loses, and is happy. John, from the Celes- 
 tial Empire, bets his money, earned by the hardest 
 kind of hard work, on the game of "Than," or "Tan," 
 or on the Chinese game of dominoes. Jonathan, 
 from "away down east," loses all regard for his early 
 schooling, and bets his pile on anything, no matter 
 how absurd. 
 
 The native Indians are as fond of betting as the 
 native or imported Californian of Caucasian blood. 
 Once upon a time I found myself on the bank of the 
 Colorado River, among the stalwart Mojaves, the 
 largest and finest race of Indians on the continent. 
 An old sub-chief had traded with a gold hunter for 
 a Spanish jackass, known as a buro in Spanish- Amer- 
 ican countries, and was riding him up and down the 
 river-bank in great state, as full of new-born dignity 
 as the King of all the Mosquitoes, when he mounts a 
 new breech-clout, and is saluted as "His Royal High- 
 ness, the good friend and ally of Her Majesty, Vic- 
 toria, by the grace of God," etc., etc. Unluckily, at 
 the moment of his supreme happiness, a fellow Mo- 
 jave dared him to play a game of the swindling crib- 
 
.,-,. EARLY TIMES. 
 
 bage with Spanish cards, so much affected by the red 
 sons of the burning- desert. The banter was ac- 
 cepted, down went both parties on their bellies in the 
 dirt, a ring- of admiring \ ators was formed, and 
 the game commenced. My chief lost, and in an in- 
 stant loud jeers arose on all sides; they resemble 
 "Melican man" iiotonishingly, and have no sympathy 
 for the man who gets cleaned out. Without a word, 
 and with a face as impassive and devoid of expression 
 of any kind as a side of sole-leather, the grim old 
 warrior arose and walked to the spot where the buro 
 was tied. Taking the cord in his hand, he solemnly 
 lead the diminutive animal to his new owner and 
 formally delivered him. Thus much for his word, but 
 now for revenge for insulted dignity. As the winner 
 stretched out his hand and took the rope, the loser, 
 quick as lightning, drew a long, sharp knife, and at 
 one blow cut through the buro's neck, and dropped 
 him in his tracks, "as dead as Kclsey's hen," then 
 turned away in gloomy silence and sought his first 
 and ugliest wife, doubtless with the intention of giv- 
 ing her a good drubbing on general principles. 
 
 I had at that moment a fragmentary suit of clothes 
 in which I had just crossed the desert. The shirt was 
 of many colors — mostly of earthen hue — and the col- 
 lar was as stiff with sweat and dust as a piece of 
 sheet-iron. The drawers had once been of woollen 
 goods, and had a seat to them, but from contact with 
 the saddle and the great heat of the atmosphere, had 
 done their work, and there was a frightful vacancy 
 where the seat had been. The socks were pretty 
 
FLAYIXG TO STRIP. ~je 
 
 much of a piece with the shirt, and the cravat ditto. 
 A fit of generosity came over me. I had donned a 
 new suit of under-clothing, and the old one was 
 worthless ; I could afford to be liberal. Calling a 
 young buck, I bade him strip himself, put the shirt, 
 drawers — what there was left of them — socks and 
 neck-tie upon him, turned the collar of the shirt up 
 so that it reached nearly to the top of his head, 
 and then turned him loose. I saw him going down 
 to the encampment or ranchcria all right, with two 
 buxom squaws following admiringly behind him, the 
 condition of his drawers being no draw-back on his 
 appearance in that society. I felt that I had done a 
 noble thing and made a fellow-creature happy. Judge 
 of my surprise, not to say disgust, when I came back 
 an hour later and found him stretched at full length 
 on the dusty earth, playing cards for the various arti- 
 cles of clothing I had bestowed upon him, with a 
 hump-backed squaw and two gallant young bloods 
 belonging to the first families of the Mojaves. They 
 had played everything off him but the neck-tie when 
 I arrived, and, clad in that light and airy costume 
 only, he was then gambling for that, with a fair chance 
 of losing. I almost felt like giving him a new rig, 
 but did not on reflection. 
 
 I was once walking along one of the streets of 
 that part of San Francisco most expressively known 
 as the Barbary Coast, where "pirates, rovers and as- 
 sailing thieves" most do congregate to prey upon the 
 unwary, in company with a friend, a well-known phy- 
 sician, when we heard a shot, and saw a man bare- 
 
,76 EARLY TIMES. 
 
 headed and in his shirt-sleev es run out of a house and 
 dash into an alley, pursued by a crowd of policemen 
 and citizens who chanced to be in the vicinity, all 
 joining with a will in the chase. The pursued ran 
 like a deer, turned and doubled on his pursuers, and 
 climbed fences, and went over low buildings into all 
 sorts of out-of-the-way places to escape, but in vain. 
 At every turn his pursuers increased in number, and 
 he was constantly headed off and more nearly cor- 
 nered. Several times a policeman raised his revolver 
 to bring him down, but d«!d not fire — for a wonder — 
 lest he should hit somebody else ; and as often the 
 pursued would drive back his volunteer pursuers who 
 were closing around him, by pointing at them a pis- 
 tol, with one barrel of which he had just shot his ex- 
 mistress through the head, and shouting to them to 
 keep out of reach or he would give them the con- 
 tents. Surrounded at last, he sat down in an area, 
 placed his head against a fence, and putting the pistol 
 to his head, sent a bullet crashing through his skull, 
 before a policeman who was hard upon him could 
 catch his hand. The doctor and myself were in the 
 area in a minute more, and two men who had followed 
 him in all his turnings were close behind us. The 
 doctor stooped to raise the head of the miserable sui- 
 cide, just as one of these men exclaimed, "He is dead 
 as a mackerel !" "Hold on, doctor, don't touch him 
 yet!" said the other, reaching out to prevent the doc- 
 tor's hand falling upon him, and then turning to his 
 friend, "I'll bet you $5 that he ain't!" "Done!" said 
 the other. "Is he dead, doctor?" "Dead as the 
 
DROWNED, OR NOT? ~jj 
 
 bull-rushes around little Moses!" was the doctor's re- 
 ply. "Mere is your money. Blame me, I never 
 could win, even when I bet on a dead thing!" said 
 the loser with a grim pleasantry, as he turned away. 
 
 The writer was riding once on the Cliff Mouse 
 road on a pet mustang which, when pushed, would win 
 a race or kill somebody in the attempt. A friend came 
 up on a livery-stable nag which he fancied had speed 
 in him, and said to me, "I have got an animal here 
 that can beat yours!" Another acquaintance stand- 
 ing near, who knew both animals, replied on the in- 
 stant, "When, where, how far, and for how much?" 
 The race was made inside of half a minute by the re- 
 ply, "Now, here, a mile, and for twenty dollars." I 
 afterwards had some of that money. 
 
 In the latter part of 1867, the ferry steamer 
 Washoe was crossing the Bay of San Francisco to 
 Oakland just at night-fall, when a passenger who had 
 been watching a suspiciously -acting man, thinking 
 him probably a thief, saw him creep stealthily to the 
 stern of the boat, look around to see if he was 
 watched, and then jump overboard. The cry, "man 
 overboard!" was raised in an instant, the steamer 
 stopped, and a boat was lowered to look for the 
 drowning man. He could not be seen in the water, 
 and the man who raised the cry was accused by some- 
 body of selling the crowd ; he had not seen anybody 
 jump overboard at all. I Ie swore he had, and would 
 lick any man who said he did not. He found an in- 
 dividual ready to accept the proposition, and licked 
 his man. The boat started on, and the discussion 
 
„ 7 S EARLY TIMES. 
 
 waxed warmer as it got nearer the landing. At last 
 a bet of live dollars was offered that no man had 
 jumped overboard, and a taker was found at once ; 
 had the first party offered to bet that a man did jump 
 overboard, number two would have been equally 
 ready to bet the other way. The money was placed in 
 the hands of the bar-keeper, and left there until he 
 should decide who won. Next day it was discovered 
 that A. Marius Chappelle, at one time one of the 
 wealthiest men in San Francisco, impelled by the fear 
 of becoming insane — a fear which was the effect of in- 
 sanity itself — had loaded himself down with old iron, 
 jumped overboard and gone immediately to the bot- 
 tom of the bay, never to rise again afive, he having 
 left letters on shore announcing his determination to 
 drown himself. The money was paid over to the 
 winner on this discovery being made known. 
 
 A man known as "Little Zcke" applied one day 
 for a position on the police force of San Francisco. 
 Flis appearance at the police office was the signal for 
 a regular burst of laughter. His face had called up a 
 ludicrous reminiscence of old times. Some years ago 
 an animated contest was going on between Frank 
 Whitney and James Nuttman for the office of Chief 
 Engineer of the Fire Department, and the present 
 applicant for the silver star was an excited and deeply 
 devoted partisan of the latter. Little Zeke was in a 
 saloon where Whitney had his headquarters, late in 
 the evening of election day, pretty well panned out 
 and deeply dejected, but still clinging to the hope of 
 his friend's election, as a drowning kitten will cling to 
 
BETTEYG HIS EYE. „ -p. 
 
 a stick. There was a rush at the door, and a friend 
 of Whitney, half breathless, crowded in and an- 
 nounced that Frank was elected. At that, Little 
 Zcke, struggling - wonderfully to suppress the sobs 
 which rose in his throat and would choke his utter- 
 ance in spite of him, exclaimed: 
 
 "Well, boys, I (sob) am dead busted — have treated 
 away all my money, but this eye eost (sob) fifty dol- 
 lars (sob, sob), and F 11 put tJiat up agin twenty -five 
 that Jim Nuttman wins, after all/" 
 
 As he said that, he ran his finger under his glass 
 eye, and slipping it out of the socket, laid it defiantly 
 down on the counter, glaring around at the crowd 
 with a single optic and an unsightly hole in his head. 
 One of the opposition was just hauling out his money 
 to see Little Zeke on the glass eye bet, when one of 
 Nuttman's friends came in and said: "We give it 
 up — Jim's beaten ! " Whereupon, Little Zeke snatched 
 up his eye, slipped it back into the socket, and started 
 out on the run, while yells of laughter from the crowd 
 made the building fairly shake. 
 
 Such are some of the eccentricities of Californians. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Yosemite Valley. — Bridal Veil Fall. — El Capitan. — Yosemite Falls. — 
 Glacier Point. — Three Brothers. — Vernal Falls. — Nevada Falls. — Half 
 Dome. — Mirror Lake. — etc., etc. 
 
 This famous valley is situated about one hundred 
 and forty miles in an easterly direction from San 
 Francisco, close to the summit of the Sierras. Its 
 length is seven miles and width about three-quarters 
 of a mile. The average height of its walls is three 
 thousand feet. These walls are nearly perpendicu- 
 lar, are irregular, and form most of the interesting 
 features of the valley. Nearly all the points of in- 
 terest can be seen from the bed of the valley. The 
 grandeur of the scenery, however, is never realized 
 until the heights are climbed. The name " Yose- 
 mite " signifies "large grizzly bear." The valley 
 was discovered in 1851 and settled in 1857. We 
 feel that words cannot be found that will do justice 
 to this beautiful and remarkable valley, with its ma- 
 jestic cliffs, dazzling water falls, and all in such gi- 
 gantic proportions. We will suppose the reader has 
 just begun the descent into the valley by the way of 
 the Tuolumne Big Trees, on the Big Oak Flat road. 
 The road winds down a safe grade, and with great ex- 
 pectancy we are prepared for an introduction to the 
 (380) 
 
THE BRIDAL VEIL FALLS. -g x 
 
 valley proper by a sight of the Merced River cas- 
 cades — the stupendous cliffs at our right hand, and 
 the beautiful, ribbon-like falls that glide over the 
 wall at our left. We see much to admire here, but 
 press onward for more interesting scenes. A mile 
 
 or so further and " The Bridal Veil Falls " are in 
 sight, and all of Nature's wonders we have seen in 
 in the past are eclipsed. A nearer view raises our 
 wildest admiration. The width of the falls at the 
 top is about fifty feet, and for six hundred feet the 
 water descends without interruption, when a pile of 
 debris, three hundred feet high, causes the stream 
 
^g 2 EL C A TITAN, THREE BROTHERS, ETC. 
 
 to change its character and become a cascade. 
 From a distance the cascades arc nearly concealed 
 by high trees. An attempt to gain a view at the 
 base of the foils is often rewarded with a thorough 
 wetting, as here, as at all the other falls, a dense spray 
 extends outward for a considerable distance. When 
 the wind is favorable this may be avoided. In the 
 drier seasons, when the stream is diminished, the 
 wind may be seen gently waving this beautiful sheet 
 back and forth, its pure, chaste whiteness glistening 
 in the sunshine, and then we can see how appropri- 
 ately it is named, and how worthy it is of admira- 
 tion. Many visitors insist that this is the most beau- 
 tiful of all sights in the valley. From here we pass 
 in an easterly direction, and at the left towers .that 
 giant block of bare granite known as El Capitan. 
 It juts out boldly into the valley as though to inter- 
 cept further passage. The mass is 3,300 feet high, 
 and almost vertical. We also catch a glimpse of 
 the South or Half Dome, and as El Capitan is pass- 
 ed, at the left we see 'The Three Brothers " and 
 " Yosemite Falls," on the right " Cathedral Spires," 
 " Sentinel Rock." Two miles further, and we arc at 
 the foot of " Glacier Point," while ahead remain 
 " Vernal Falls," " Nevada Falls," " Cap of Liberty," 
 and other points of interest. 
 
 " The Three Brothers" are three giant, pointed 
 elevations, the highest of which is known as " Eagle 
 Peak," — 3800 feet in height. These three peaks 
 are all similar in outline, and their Indian name sig- 
 nifies " leaping frogs." A good general view of Yo- 
 
YO SEMITE FALLS. ~g~ 
 
 Semite Falls may be had from Yosemite Village. 
 Here we see a river pouring down from the very 
 clouds, the measurements of the three falls aggrega- 
 ting 2,640 feet, or 1,600, 624 and 400 feet respective- 
 ly. Standing before the store, the three falls seem 
 merged into one, but different views dispel the illu- 
 sion. As with the " Big Trees," familiarity alone 
 can impress one with the grandeur of Yosemite. 
 Here we arc a mile and a quarter from the main 
 Yosemite (or upper) fall, but it seems much nearer. 
 Take the trail, however, and approach it, and as the 
 distance is slowly overcome we become more and 
 more convinced that the measurements are correct. 
 For hundreds of yards from the base of the up- 
 per fall a hurricane is blowing ; immense pines 
 sway to and fro like reeds before a gale, and a fine 
 spray is carried by the wind for a thousand feet in 
 every direction, and as a consequence but little of 
 the water that starts from the top of the fall strikes 
 directly beneath at the bottom. Imagine a stream 
 of water nearly one hundred feet wide suddenly 
 pitching off a vertical cl iff five hundred and thirty- 
 three yards in height, and gradually widening until 
 by its own weight and velocity it is converted almost 
 wholly into spray, which condenses upon the neigh- 
 boring rocks and shrubs, and reproduces a stream 
 just in time to be again dashed into white foam 
 from the next declivity. After a toilsome climb the 
 top of the fall is reached, and an enchanting view 
 of the valley is obtained. We can visit Eagle Peak 
 from here, and obtain a view at a thousand feet 
 
-g . GLACIER POINT. 
 
 greater elevation, considered one of the best of the 
 valley. From the top of Yosemite Fall we can see, 
 directly across the valley, the trail to Glacier Point. 
 It looks like an irregular line drawn upon a nearly 
 vertical surface, seemingly impassable. We start 
 from the hotel, however, and find it a very pleasur- 
 able trip, the trail being easy of ascent, and bringing 
 at every turn new and pleasing views of the many 
 beauties of this region. 
 
 Glacier Point is an overhanging lip of a precipice 
 3,200 feet in height. Steady nerves are required to 
 gain its edge with safety. One could stay here for 
 hours, or days, enjoying the varied scenery. At 
 the right hand we sec Vernal and Nevada I 7 ails, 
 Cap of Liberty, the majestic Half Dome, and in the 
 valley, Mirror Lake, the cultivated farms appearing 
 as squares on a checkerboard. The hotels seem 
 veiy small, horses arc hard to distinguish unless 
 moving, and a man is so insignificant as to be whol- 
 ly unnoticeable. Across this mighty chasm toward 
 our left the Yosemite I ; alls are seen — the pride 
 of California — and further, LI Capitan presents his 
 familiar countenance. So from this one point, by 
 merely turning the eyes indifferent directions, most 
 all of the points of interest are to be seen from an 
 elevation. You may tie a stone in a handkerchief 
 here and cast it off for a downward flight, and fol- 
 lowing it with the eye, it becomes smaller and small- 
 er until it finally disappears from vision in mid air, 
 before reaching a resting place. 
 
 If desired, we can journey half a mile further, as- 
 
N y »>t*^t^jf^ A aJ%4 
 
VIE W FROM SENTINEL DOME. ~ 3 r 
 
 sending one thousand feet to the top of Sentinel 
 Dome, and gain a more extended view of the high 
 Sierras or California Alps, which well rewards us 
 for the trouble. We can see also the stream which 
 feeds the Bridal Veil Falls, and on its banks an 
 unusual sight — a forest of cedar trees — cedar trees 
 usually being sparsely scattered throughout the pine 
 forests of the Sierras. 
 
 Our next trip will be to the Vernal and Nevada 
 Falls. The Vernal is the first reached in ascending 
 the canon. The path runs along the sloping sides 
 of the mountain to the foot of the cliff over which 
 the water plunges, and thence by a series of ladders 
 to the summit, the height being nearly 500 feet. 
 From the Vernal Fall up the stream, for a distance 
 of about a half mile, the river may be followed, 
 which presents a succession of cascades and rapids 
 of great beauty. From the top of the Vernal 
 Fall to the Nevada Fall we make an ascent of 
 about 300 feet. The Nevada Fall is in every re- 
 spect one of the grandest water-falls in the world, 
 whether we consider its vertical height, the purity 
 and volume of the river which forms it, or the stu- 
 pendous scenery by which it is surrounded. The 
 fall is not quite perpendicular, as there is near the 
 summit a ledge of rock which receives a portion of 
 the water and throws it off with a peculiar twist, 
 adding considerable to the general picturesque 
 effect. A determination of the height of the fall 
 was not easy on account of the blinding spray at 
 the bottom and the uncertainty of the exact spot 
 
„56 HALF DOME 
 
 where the water strikes. ' The height is generally 
 given at 639 feet. Nevada Falls may be visited by 
 taking the horse-trail as well as by the roule via Ver- 
 nal Falls. This (the Half Dome) rock may be seen 
 on a clear day by those traveling by rail through 
 Modesto and Merced, a distance of sixty miles. It 
 is 4,737 feet high, by comparison eight times as high 
 as the great pyramids of Egypt. The name sug- 
 gests its form, the flat portion facing the valley. It 
 is composed almost entirely of pure granite, and is 
 probably the largest visible rock in the world. Prof. 
 Whitney says of the Half Dome: "It has not the 
 massiveness of El Capitan, but is more astonishing, 
 and probably there are few visitors to the valley who 
 would not concede to it the first place among all the 
 wonders of the region. Very few visitors make the 
 ascent. It is partly made by horseback trail, and 
 finished by rope, ladders and hard climbing. Yo- 
 semite Valley can never be appreciated until visit- 
 ed, and then the highest expectations are more than 
 realized." 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Big Trees of California. — Calaveras Grove. — South Grove. — Mariposa 
 Grove, etc. — The Giant Forest of Tulare. — The Sage of The Forest and 
 Habitation. — The Coast Redwoods. 
 
 The Big Trees of California are all redwoods, 
 although slightly different from the redwoods of the 
 coast ranges. By examining Gray's School and 
 Field Botany, page 314, the following will be 
 found. 
 
 Sequoia, Redwood. Named for the Cherokee 
 half-breed Indian Chief, See-qua-yah, who invented 
 an alphabet for his tribe. Very celebrated, gigan- 
 tic Californian tress, with fibrous bark and soft, fis- 
 sile, dull redwood 
 
 Sequoia Sempervirens. Common redwood of the 
 coast ranges of California, with flat and long acute 
 leaves, two ranked, on the branches, but small, awl- 
 shaped and scattered ones on the erect or leading 
 shoots, and small, globular cones barely one inch 
 long. 
 
 Sequoia Gigantea. Giant redwood of the Sierra 
 Nevada, with all the leaves awl-shaped and distrib- 
 uted round the branch. Cones, one and a half to 
 two inches long. Sequoias belong to the Cypress 
 family. The Juniper the same. The cedar is clas- 
 
 (387) 
 
„gg BIG TREE GROVES. 
 
 sified with the Pine family and is not, as some sup- 
 pose, the same tree as the " Big Trees." 
 
 The sfreat forest of the Sierra Nevada rancre is 
 four hundred miles long, and is mostly composed of 
 pine, fir, balsam, spruce and cedar. There are many 
 redwoods scattered throughout this great timber 
 belt, beginning in Calaveras County and ending in 
 Tulare County, two hundred miles distant, and oft- 
 ten several or many large trees about thirty feet in 
 diameter, and less, are found close together. These 
 groups are called " Big Tree Groves," and in ac- 
 counts given, the number of groves vary. 
 
 The Big Trees of California are situated on the 
 western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, at 
 an altitude of from four thousand five hundred to 
 six thousand five hundred feet above sea level. The 
 most northern is the Calaveras Grove, which is in 
 Calaveras county, in a small valley near the head- 
 waters of the San Antonio, and five miles east of the 
 falls of said stream, which are one hundred and fif- 
 ty feet high, and surrounded by the grandest scen- 
 ery. There are several routes from San Francisco 
 and other points to this group, the group being very 
 accessible as to time, comfort and cost. Sperry's 
 Mammoth Grove Hotel (one of the best in the 
 mountains) is situated here, within a stone's throw 
 of the grove itself. The individual trees are easily 
 seen during a comfortable morning walk from the 
 hotel or camp ground. The Calaveras Grove is 
 the one first discovered to the world, and is now a 
 celebrated place of resort. 
 
" THE TWO SENTINELS;' "FATHER OF THE FOREST:' „gg 
 
 The carriage road approaching the hotel passes 
 between " The Two Sentinels," each over three 
 hundred feet high, and the largest twenty-three feet 
 in diameter. Directly to the right from this point 
 is to be seen (almost at one glance) the rest of the 
 grove, which contains ten trees, each thirty feet in 
 diameter, and over seventy between fifteen and thir- 
 ty feet, besides many smaller ones. In 1853 one of 
 the largest trees was cut down. It was ninety-two 
 feet in circumference, and over three hundred feet 
 high. Five men worked twenty-two days in felling 
 it, using large pump-augers. The stump of this 
 tree has been smoothed off and a house built upon it, 
 which easily accommodates thirty-two dancers, be- 
 sides seventeen lookers on. Near the stump lies a 
 section of the trunk twenty-five feet in height and 
 twenty feet long. Beyond lies the immense trunk 
 as it fell, measuring three hundred and two feet 
 in length. Upon this was situated a bar-room and 
 a ten-pin alley, stretching along its upper surface for 
 a distance of eighty-one feet, affording ample space 
 for two alley beds, side by side. 
 
 " The Father of the Forest," an immense tree, 
 has lon<{ since bowed his head in the dust. He 
 measures one hundred and twelve feet in circumfer. 
 cnce at the base, and can be traced three hundred 
 feet, where the trunk was broken by falling against 
 another tree. It here measures sixteen feet in dia- 
 meter, and, according to the average taper of other 
 trees, this venerable giant must have been four hun- 
 dred and fifty feet high when standing. A hollow 
 
., qq « PIONEERS' CABIN," "MOTHER OF THE FOREST" 
 
 chamber or burnt cavity extends through the trunk 
 two hundred feet, large enough for a person to ride 
 through on horseback, and from this cavity one can 
 emerge to the outer world, if he likes, through a 
 knot hole, by the help of two ladders which are 
 conveniently placed. Walking upon the trunk and 
 looking at its uprooted base, the mind can scarce- 
 ly conceive its prodigious dimensions, while on eith- 
 er hand tower its onant sons and daughters, form- 
 ing the most impressive scene in the forest. The 
 " Pioneers' Cabin," so named from the cabin-like 
 chamber and chimney its hollow trunk exhibits, is 
 one of the largest trees, being thirty-two feet in di- 
 ameter. By a little work a carriage drive has been 
 opened through this tree. The " Mother of the 
 Forest " was ninety feet in circumference and three 
 hundred and twenty-seven feet high (the tallest in 
 the grove), estimated to contain five hundred and 
 thirty thousand feet of lumber. Two hundred feet 
 of the bark was removed from the "Mother" in 
 1854, and taken to the Crystal Palace, Sydenham 
 Park, England, and there set up in position, but 
 afterwards burned. It is said that several years 
 elapsed after the bark was stripped before the tree 
 was perfectly dead. Most of the trees here are 
 named after famous personages — U. S. Grant, Sher- 
 man, W. C. Bryant, Longfellow, Daniel Webster — 
 and others from their peculiarities of shape or group- 
 ing, as " Siamese Twins," " Uncle Tom's Cabin." 
 " Three Graces," etc. 
 
 To the " South Grove," about six miles distant 
 
THE "SOUTH GROVE," "PALACE HOTEL." 
 
 391 
 
 from the hotel, is an enjoyable horseback ride. It 
 contains thirteen hundred and eighty trees over 
 eighteen feet in diameter, and many smaller. Sev- 
 eral of them vary from ninety feet to one hundred 
 and six feet in circumference, among which may be 
 mentioned the following as they are named: Massa- 
 chusetts, three hundred and eighty feet high and 
 one hundred feet in circumference, Ohio, three hun- 
 dred and twenty-eight feet in height and one hun- 
 dred and four feet in circumference, and New York, 
 three hundred and forty feet high and one hundred 
 and six feet in circumference ! ! ! 
 
 Words fail to convey an idea of the exact mag- 
 nitude of these gigantic denizens of the forest. 
 The mind does not at first realize that a tree can 
 possibly be so large, but prefers to dwarf men to 
 pigmies, and an immense coach and six to Cinder- 
 ella's outfit, but actual measurements and familiar- 
 ity gradually increase the apparent size. How 
 much harder, then, is it to convince the credulous 
 that such big trees exist ? A young lady once en- 
 dangered her reputation for veracity, by exhibiting 
 a thread which she had passed around a Calaveras 
 tree; those present seemed inclined to think she 
 had thrown in a spool or so extra. "Cyclops" 
 must be remembered, a live tree with an immense 
 cavity at its base which has actually held twenty- 
 four men on horseback. The " Palace Hotel," 
 one hundred feet in circumference and three hun- 
 dred feet high, is so named on account of its spa- 
 cious interior, after the " Palace " at San Francisco, 
 
,., " SMITH S CABINS "OLD GOLIATH." 
 
 the largest hotel in the world. The Palace has 
 a burnt-out cavity extending upward ninety feet, 
 and within it is fifteen feet across, and still the 
 monster is on its feet and lives. "Smith's Cabin," 
 so named after a hunter and guide who lived in its 
 burnt-out base for two years, is alive and flourish- 
 ing despite the cabin. The interior has been meas- 
 ured carefully, and shows quite a large sized room 
 for a cabin, being sixteen feet wide by twenty-one 
 and one half feet long. Its height is three hundred 
 and forty feet. Here Smith weathered the terrible 
 £alc that caused the downfall of "Old Goliath," his 
 neighbor. During the progress of the hurricane he 
 did not dare to venture out, as limbs and trees 
 were constantly coming down. The fall of " Old 
 Goliath" he likened to an earthquake. Gen. Cus- 
 ter, Hancock, Garfield, and other distinguished 
 characters stand here in glory. When one remem- 
 bers the probable age of these trees, it would seem 
 as though Adam or Eve deserve remembrance. 
 An excursion to this grove from Sperry's will take 
 up one day, and prove a pleasant event in one's life. 
 
 The Tuolumne Grove comes next in our march 
 southward. It contains about thirty trees. The most 
 impressive part of a trip via this grove is the fact 
 that a large stump called " The Dead Giant," has 
 been tunneled through, and the Yosemitc stages on 
 their way from Milton over the Big Oak Flat route 
 to the Valley make the passage through the open- 
 ing. 
 
 The Merced Grove is a small grove of about fifty 
 
'MARIPOSA DIG TJZEESV ^m 
 
 trees, many of them being from fifty to ninety feet 
 in circumference. It is about sixteen miles from 
 Yosemite Valley on the Coultervillc road. After 
 leaving the Tuolumne Grove, the road runs through 
 the lower portion of the Yosemite Valley, until it 
 joins the road from the south by which we must 
 leave the valley to visit the " Mariposa Big Trees." 
 Half a day's drive from Yosemite, and Clark's Sta- 
 tion, or Big Tree Station, is reached ; four miles 
 further and we are there. This grove is a state res- 
 ervation or park, and like Yosennite Valley, is watch- 
 ed over by an official known as " The Guardian." 
 It is in Mariposa County, hence its name. It really 
 consists of two groves called respectively "Lower" 
 and " Upper"; there area bout six hundred trees in 
 both. The "Grizzly Giant" in the lower is the 
 best known tree. It is well named, having very 
 large crooked limbs, and is somewhat disfigured 
 by fire. It is some two hundred feet from the 
 ground to the first limb. The diameter at the 
 ground is thirty-one feet, but being spurred with 
 large extending roots, a measurement above them 
 skives twentv-nine feet. There are two other large 
 trees in the grove, each ninety-two and a half feet 
 in circumference. The trees here are not so tall as 
 those in Calaveras Grove. 
 
 In the Tuolumne Grove we had a driveway 
 through a dead stump, here is one through a living 
 tree called Wawona (Big Tree), twenty-seven feet 
 in diameter. The tunnel is ten feet high, ten feet 
 wide at bottom, and seven feet at the top. As with 
 
-Q 4 THE FRESNO GROVE. 
 
 all of the other big trees, fires in the distant past 
 have marred and reduced the trees of this grove, 
 and some of the smaller ones were entirely destroy- 
 ed. Upon leaving the main road for a drive through 
 the grove a number of infant Big Trees are seen, 
 scattered and in groups, and during the six miles 
 drive necessary to " take in " the grove, more 
 young trees are met with. Prof. Whitney, State 
 Geologist, measured twenty-five trees here that aver- 
 aged two hundred and thirty feet high, the tallest 
 being two hundred and seventy-two feet to the top. 
 "Grant" is again remembered at this grove, and is 
 about sixty-five feet in circumference. 
 
 Longfellow and Whittier, as well as several States, 
 are introduced in turn. 
 
 Ten miles further is a grove of some eight hun- 
 dred trees on an area of two and a half square miles. 
 The largest is ninety-five feet in circumference. 
 This is the Fresno Grove. 
 
 Other groves are found in Fresno County, one 
 of which is situated on a branch of Kings River, 
 distant about thirty miles from Kings River P. O. 
 " General Grant," the largest tree, has a wide repu- 
 tation for size throughout the surrounding country. 
 "General Grant," if measured at the ground, would 
 give a circumference of about one hundred feet. If 
 measured above the deformities, eight feet from the 
 ground, eighty-eight feet would be the result. " Sher- 
 idan," " Sherman," and " Garfield," are all very large 
 beautiful trees. A large trunk hollowed out by fire 
 lies near Garfield ; two horses may be led side by 
 
THE ''GIANT FOREST" OF TULARE. „ n ~ 
 
 side through it from one end to the other, a distance 
 of ninety feet ; the main body of this trunk is now 
 fifteen feet high. 
 
 This grove is much visited by the residents of 
 Fresno and adjoining counties. There is agood camp- 
 ing ground at, Mill Creek Flat, less than one mile 
 distant. Sweet's Mill, with remains of what were at 
 one time magnificent Big Trees, is also near at hand. 
 
 In Tulare County we have a surprise in the " Big 
 Tree " line. There are thousands of acres of Red- 
 wood trees there, many of which are so large as to 
 give the name of " The Giant Forest of Tulare " to 
 the grove or belt. Preparation is being made to be- 
 gin a warfare upon these trees for their lumber. 
 Some of the lumber-men state, however, that every 
 precaution will be taken to preserve all groups of 
 extra large trees, and the probabilities are that in 
 the near future the hitherto little known wonder- 
 land of both Fresno and Tulare counties will be 
 made accessible, so as to permit its many attractions 
 being visited by tourists and those in search of 
 health, as here are grand canons, high waterfalls, 
 marble cliffs, dense forests, and romantic scenery 
 generally. One of the best roads at present to the 
 Giant Forest starts from Visaliaand runs in a north- 
 easterly direction for about fifty miles, when the 
 camps of the " Kaweah Co-operative Colony Com- 
 pany " at the forest are reached. 
 
 Our frontispiece is a copy of a photograph of a 
 Big Tree, and shows the lower portion of one of 
 Kaweah s vegetable productions. 
 
396 
 
 A MONSTER TREE. 
 
 This monster grows upon the land owned by the 
 company mentioned, and the people standing be- 
 fore it are mostly colonists who have been busily 
 engaged in making roads, and otherwise preparing 
 for a raid upon the trees, to partly supply the lum- 
 ber needed for the immense fertile valley below, 
 which is making now such phenomenal strides in 
 settlement and improvement. 
 
 We would suggest to the reader that the people 
 standing before the tree will serve as a measure 
 both in their height and breadth by which to deter- 
 mine the size (as to circumference and diameter) of 
 the tree. The gentleman at the extreme left of the 
 picture is sitting against the tree, which curves out- 
 ward somewhat before entering the ground. The 
 tree also curves outward at the extreme right, far 
 enough for another man to recline in the same man- 
 ner, but is not shown in the picture (the fault of the 
 photographer). You will notice that while the 
 people are standing half way around the tree, that 
 their shoulders are square to the front, so that should 
 those on the wings march up and form a perfect- 
 ly straight line they would stand shoulder to shoul- 
 der — that is, twenty of them would. Figure it out 
 to your satisfaction, if the size is too large for you 
 to believe. 
 
 We are greatly indebted to Mr. J. J. Martin, Sec- 
 retary of the " Kaweah Co-operative Colony Com- 
 pany," for the following correct description of this 
 interesting region : 
 
WONDERLAND. 
 
 THE " GIANT FOREST OF TULARE COUNTY, 
 
 3)7 
 
 California, is situated in the northeast portion of the county em- 
 braced in townships fifteen and sixteen south, and ranges twenty- 
 nine and thirty east, Mount Diablo Base and Meridian. This 
 portion of the great timber belt that stretches for several hundred 
 miles along the Sierra Nevadas, at an altitude of between six 
 thousand to ten thousand feet, derives its title " Giant " from its 
 remarkable growth of Redwood (Sequoia Gigantea). Specimens 
 of mammoth Redwood can be seen at various places in the State, 
 some of them perhaps equally as large as those found in the Giant 
 Forest, but no where else in the world can be found a collection 
 of trees of such enormous proportions. 
 
 Owing to its almost inaccessible location the forest remains in- 
 tact in all its primitive majesty. The history of a thousand years 
 can be read at a glance. Giants of past ages lie as they have fall- 
 en centuries ago, frequently one across the other, some partly em- 
 bedded in the earth, others completely buried. Many of these 
 fallen giants have been burnt hollow, the fire consuming the heart 
 of the tree, leaving an immense tube, in instances large enough 
 for a horse and rider to pass through. Some of these burnt logs 
 are fifty, sixty, and sometimes one hundred feet long, with a hol- 
 low space of from eight to twelve feet diameter, tapering off to two 
 feet or less, and are frequently used by hunters and trappers as 
 winter quarters. Mr. Wolverton, a hunter and trapper, and " Sage 
 of the Forest," has occupied one of these logs for several years. 
 The front of his " Log " Cabin has been framed in with " shakes," 
 and boasts the modern appendage of a door. The diameter of 
 the log at the entrance is about twelve feet, or would be were it 
 not partly imbedded in the ground, and in a length of about fifty 
 feet tapers off to about two feet. The shell of the log is about 
 four feet in thickness, without the bark, which rotted from the 
 trunk, probably about the time that Christopher Columbus made 
 his first visit to the " New World." Upon one side of the log has 
 been cut an opening for a window, while another, filled in with 
 stone, serves as a fireplace. The interior is furnished with chairs 
 
393 
 
 KING OF THE forest:' 
 
 and bunks of primitive construction. Upon shelves are contained 
 pro\isions, steel traps and hunters' material. Skins of bear, deer, 
 fox and other animals lie around in all directions. The trusty 
 rifle hangs above the rugged fire-place, and the faithful dog lies at 
 the feet of his master, longing for the signal of departure. The 
 grizzly hunter himself is an intelligent, hospitable, kindly man, 
 pleasant to meet in such lonely, silent quarters ; and his dwelling 
 is probably one of the most unique in existence. 
 
 The largest tree measured by the writer is one hundred and 
 seventeen feet around its base ; at four feet from its base the same 
 tree measured ninety-eight feet in circumference. There are sev- 
 eral trees nearly or quite as large as this one, and it is positively 
 asserted by several reputable witnesses that one exists in the for- 
 est measuring one-hundred and twenty-six feet in circumference. 
 It is difficult in such a wilderness of " Monarchs " to find a given 
 location, and, although the writer sought diligently for some hours 
 for an interview with this " King of the Forest," he was obliged to 
 go away disappointed ; but with the firm conviction from the 
 statements made, and from the surrounding evidences, that un- 
 doubtedly a tree of the dimensions described does really exist. 
 
 The forest is remarkable for its "groups" of giant trees. Upon 
 a five acre lot was counted ten trees of the following dimensions : 
 one tree 30 feet diameter, two trees 28 feet, and one each 27, 26, 
 25, 23 and 22 feet in diameter. In height these trees averaged 
 from two hundred and seventy-five to three hundred and twenty-five 
 feet, and it is estimated would yield an average of one hundred 
 thousand feet of lumber to the tree. Besides these were several 
 trees of from fifteen to twenty feet diameter, growing upon the 
 same lot. Another remarkable group consists of eight trees stand- 
 ing equidistant in a parallel line, like colossal columns supporting 
 the empyrean sky. In another group was counted fifteen giants, 
 occupying a space of about one- hundred feet square, not one of 
 which was less than two hundred and fifty feet high. In the hol- 
 low of a double tree of less than average dimensions, nineteen 
 people comfortably ensconced themselves, with ample room for 
 more. A delightful feature of the " Giant Forest " is the number 
 of its ice-cold springs and sparkling rivulets. One of these, known 
 
" MOKO ROCK:' oqq 
 
 as " Redstone Creek " is remarkably beautiful. The limpid stream 
 gurgles among moss-covered rocks o'erhung with delicate lace-like 
 ferns, and its banks bordered with bright-hued tiger lilies. An 
 occasional ray of bright sunshine cleaving its way through the 
 dense foliage overhead lights up this pretty tableau of mosses, 
 ferns and flowers with enchanting effect. 
 
 Another pleasing feature is the meadows, of which there are 
 several in the forest. These are delightful glades, containing from 
 ten to one hundred acres each, of rich, level grazing land. Sur- 
 rounded by the tall, silent sentinels of the sombre forest, they 
 appear to the fanciful eye like carpets of green velvet upon which 
 the forest nymphs and fairies hold their moonlight revelries. In 
 the eye of the prosy but practical stock-man, their beauty con- 
 sists in the number of sleek cattle they will support during the 
 sultry summer season. 
 
 The flora of the forest is varied and beautiful. A plant resem- 
 bling the hyacinth, known as the "snow plant," is a noticeable 
 feature, growing only at an elevation of from six to eight thousand 
 feet. The air during midsummer is perfumed with musk and wild 
 roses, which are abundant. In some places the hill sides are 
 covered with ferns. The hazel nut, wild raspberry, gooseberry and 
 strawberry are plentiful everywhere. The " Golden Arbor Vitae," 
 and other ornamental trees, also have their natural home in the 
 forest. 
 
 The scenery in and around the forest is of the grandest. At 
 the entrance to the forest from the Marble Canon, Moro Rock, a 
 huge mass of solid granite, rises perpendicularly some seven hun- 
 dred feet from its base. The best near view of this remarkable 
 rock, which can be seen plainly from the valley fifty to a hundred 
 miles away, is obtainable from u Admiration Point," but only those 
 who are sure-footed and have a steady nerve had better trust them- 
 selves to the edge of this precipitous pinnacle which overlooks 
 the mighty marble chasm. From here the fourteen falls of the 
 "Marble Fork" are seen gushing and rushing with hasty stride 
 down the mighty marble staircase of its own construction. From 
 here, also, an excellent view is had of " Castle Peaks," " Kaweah 
 Peaks," and " Needle Rock." The two former are well known 
 
, Q0 "CATHEDRAL ROCKS." 
 
 features of the Sierras, the latter is a peculiar natural formation 
 in the shape of an obelisk, rising perpendicularly some five hun- 
 dred feet, and said to be ninety feet across at the top or point ; 
 another rock of nearly similar dimensions stands alongside, giving 
 the two, when viewed at a certain angle, the appearance of Cathe- 
 dral spires ; hence they are also known as " Cathedral Rocks." 
 But the best general view is obtained from the top of old Moro 
 itself. Under the skillful guidance of Mr. G. W. Swanson, this 
 giddy eminence was, with some difficulty, attained. From here 
 the country lies extended before the beholder like a map. At our 
 feet the Marble Canon, along which the silvery line of the Kaweah 
 River can be traced for miles. To our left, Paradise Canon and 
 the precipitous peaks of the higher range of snow-clad mountains. 
 At our back and to our right, the solemn, silent forest. To the 
 west, the great San Joaquin Valley, with its sinuous, shining rivers, 
 its big lake and little towns, dotted all over its vast area : every- 
 where that the eye turns, a picture of the grandest sublimity is 
 presented. 
 
 Another remarkable view, more particularly of the great Forest 
 and of the higher range of mountains, is obtained from an eleva- 
 tion known as "Point Exclamation," situated in nearly the center 
 of the forest. From this point the immensity and beauty of this 
 vast body of timber can be comprehended at a glance. The be- 
 holder cannot refrain from an exclamation of surprise as the scene 
 bursts upon him for the first time, hence the name, " Point Ex- 
 clamation." 
 
 The major portion of the timber lands in the Giant Forest was 
 purchased from the government some three years ago, by individ- 
 uals who have since formed a company known as the " Kaweah 
 Cooperative Colony Company," for the purpose of cultivating and 
 developing this valuable resource, and settling up the county. A 
 wagon road is being built by this company, which will shortly be 
 completed, when the construction of a railroad will commence 
 forthwith. It is gratifying to know that it is not the intention of 
 this company to sweep from off the face of the earth these grand rel- 
 ics of past centuries. Portions of the forest will be cleared and culti- 
 vated, but the " Monarchs " will be left to reign supreme in their 
 
A GREAT DISCOVERY. . Q , 
 
 mighty grandeur, to excite the awe and admiration of generations 
 yet to come. 
 
 Before leaving the subject, " The Giant Forest of Tulare," we 
 will insert an item which appeared in the Amador Sentinel Aug. 
 15, 1888. 
 
 A Giant Tree. 
 
 The Discovery of an Etigineer in Tulare County — A Sequoia 176 
 Feet around. 
 
 Fred W. Clough, a well-known engineer of the Comstock, has 
 been spending some weeks in the wilds of the Sierras, about 
 the headwaters of the Kaweah River, Tulare County, Cal. He was 
 accompanied in his wanderings by Westley Warren, an old Com- 
 stocker who now resides in Tulare Valley. About the headwaters 
 of the Kaweah they got into an unexplored and almost impene- 
 trable region. In one place they were obliged to cut a trail for 
 nearly a mile in order to get through the chaparral that blockaded 
 the mountain pass. Mr. Clough says that on the trip they discov- 
 ered a tree of sequoia species, which he believes to be much the 
 largest on the Continent of America. Mr. Warren, who has seen 
 the big trees of Mariposa, those of the Big Tree Grove in Cala- 
 veras county, and all the big trees of the Coast Range, says there 
 is no place in California a tree that approaches in size that on the 
 Kaweah. 
 
 The men had with them no rule, tape-line or measure of any 
 kind, but Mr. Warren measured the tree with his rifle, which is 
 four feet in length. He found it to be forty-four lengths of his 
 gun in circumference at a point as high above the ground as he 
 could reach. The top of the tree has been broken off, but it is 
 still of immense height. This monster tree stands in a small ba- 
 sin near the Kaweah, and is surrounded on all sides by a wall of 
 huge, rugged rocks. There is so much brush in the vicinity that 
 the little valley in which the big tree stands is almost inaccessible. 
 
 A landmark, and a notable feature of the landscape, is an im- 
 mense rock known as Homer's Nose. This rock stands on a 
 mountain that has an elevation of from 8,000 to 9,000 feet above 
 
, 2 THE COAST RED WO ODS. 
 
 the level of the sea. The ro^k itself is about five hundred feet in 
 height. It is visible above the pine forests from Tulare Valley. 
 The small valley in which the big tree stands is a mile or two east 
 of Homer's Nose. About it are many giant trees, several larger 
 than the big trees of Mariposa. Lower down the Kaweah is what 
 is called the Giant Forest. At this place a colony of Socialists 
 have taken up ten square miles of timber land. On their land 
 are many trees that are from 13 to 18 feet in diameter. The 
 mountain men say the big trees (the sequoia) are a cross between 
 the redwood and the fir. 
 
 THE COAST REDWOODS. 
 
 While we are interested in the subject of " Big Trees," it will 
 be well to consider the nearest relation of the Sierra Nevada 
 Mammoths, the redwoods of the Coast Ranges. These redwoods 
 are to be found in the coast counties as far south as Monterey Co., 
 and northward to Del Norte Co.. They as well as the Seqouia Gigan- 
 tea, are distinctly a California production, not being found any- 
 where else. The coast redwoods invariably grow in soil which has 
 as bedrock a sandstone formation. Santa Cruz and San Mateo 
 counties have a very fine belt of timber from ten to twenty miles 
 wide, and thirty to forty miles long. At Felton, in Santa Cruz Co., 
 is a group of about twenty large trees, which are from ten to 
 eighteen feet in diameter. One has a cabin-like cavity at its base 
 which has in the past been used as a dwelling, and it has been 
 said that it is the birth-place of one of our native Californians. 
 These trees cover about twenty acres, and are known as " The 
 Big Trees of Santa Cruz."' 
 
 Marin County has quite an area of redwood timber standing; 
 the cool and romantic shades of which are a delight to the resi- 
 dents of San Francisco, who indulge considerably during the camp- 
 ing season in fishing, hunting, and picnicing, at this short distance 
 from the city. 
 
 Sonoma County contains immense wealth in her redwoods, 
 most of which grow in close proximity to the Russian River, be- 
 
OTHER LARGE TREES. a Q * 
 
 ginning at a point near Forestville, and extending as far westward 
 as Duncan's Mills. One particular part containing many and 
 large trees is known as "The Pocket." 
 
 When the next county (Mendocino) is reached, and its great 
 belt is examined, one is inclined to think that there is no immedi- 
 ate danger of a scarcity of redwood lumber. This belt is as long 
 as the coast line of the county, ninety miles, and is on an aver- 
 age twenty miles wide. There are about fifteen saw-mills in this 
 belt, cutting from twenty-five to sixty thousand feet of lumber per 
 day, besides several smaller ones, and the shingle mills. There 
 are also large numbers of railroad ties being constantly shipped. 
 There is an extra large redwood situated on a branch of Alder 
 Creek on Isaac Crispin's place, six miles back from Manchester 
 (a small place near Point Arena). This tree is 67 feet in circum- 
 ference or 22 feet in diameter, and about 300 feet high. It would 
 make 200,000 feet of good lumber, worth over $4,000 in S. F. 
 There are many trees in this forest from 12 to 15 feet in diameter, 
 and some few larger. Near Orr's Hot Springs a tree eleven feet 
 in diameter has been cut down and the rings counted accurately, 
 and if one ring represents a year's growth, this tree is 829 years 
 old! ! 
 
 Humboldt County can boast of as fine redwood timber as ex- 
 ists, that portion of forest growing on the banks of the South 
 Fork of Eel River being composed of trees of more than ordin- 
 ary size. This belt is 45 miles long (running with the river), and 
 i l /2 to 15 miles wide. Near J. G. Meyers' residence will be found 
 one 2 1 feet in diameter, and one 23 feet in diameter has been re- 
 ported, also several of 20 to 21 feet. B. F. Sears has a fine tree 
 20 feet in diameter on his land. There are a great many trees 
 here twelve feet in diameter or more — hundreds of them. 
 
 The Van Duzen belt is a magnificent forest, and is said to be 
 equal to that of Eel River. The Mad River forests north of Ar- 
 eata are also famed for the size and extent of redwoods. It may 
 be interesting to add that the principal tree of "The Petrified 
 Forest of Calistocra " is a redwood. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 The Geysers. 
 
 These wonderful springs are located in the north- 
 eastern part of Sonoma County, Cal. They are 
 1,700 feet above the sea level, and are placed amidst 
 the most interesting mountain scenery. Lack of 
 space forbids a proper description of this " chemical 
 laboratory of the Almighty," and we can hardly do 
 more than to give a general idea of the peculiar 
 characteristics of the place by reference to the names 
 so fittingly adopted for some of the most interesting 
 features, such as: "The Pluton River," "Devil's 
 Canon," the " Eye Spring," " Prosperine's Grotto," 
 "The Devil's Ink," "Witches' Caldron," "The 
 Devil's Canopy," "Steamboat Springs," "Lovers' 
 Retreat," " White Sulphur Springs," Devil's Oven," 
 " Devil's Tea Kettle," " The Crater," " The Acid 
 Bath," " The Steam Bath." 
 
 This is a truly wonderful laboratory of Nature. 
 The antagonism of the various mineral substances 
 here strangely brought together produces results so 
 interesting, varied, and even startling, as to find no 
 parallel within the beholder's experience. 
 
 The Geysers Hotel, situated within easy walking 
 distance of these wonders, is widely known as a 
 popular resort of the seekers of health and of pleas- 
 ure, as well as of those who search out the curious 
 spots of the earth. 
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